Paul  Reoere’s  Signal  Canteens 


APRIL  18,  1775, 


IN  THE 

STEEPLE  OF  THE  NORTH  CHURCH : 

\TITH  AN  ACCOUNT  OF 

THE  TABLET  ON  CHRIST  CHURCH  AND  THE  MONUMENTS  AT 
HIGHLAND  PARK  AND  DORCHESTER  HEIGHTS. 


BY  WILLIAM  W.  WHEILDON. 


WITH  HELIOTTPE  OF  CHRIST  CHURCH. 


BOSTON  : 

LEE  &  SHEPARD,  Publishers. 
1878. 


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HISTOE Y 


OF 

Paul  Hcucrc’s  Signal  Canterns 

APRIL  18,  1775, 

IN  THE 

STEEPLE  OF  THE  NORTH  CHURCH: 


WIT EI  AN  ACCOUNT  OF 

THE  TABLET  ON  CHRIsT  CHURCH  AND  THE  MONUMENTS  AT 
HIGHLAND  PARK  AND  DORCHESTER  HEIGHTS. 


BY  WILLIAM  \V.  WHEILDON. 


WITH  HELIOTYPE  OF  CHRIST  CnURCII. 


CONCORD : 

author’s  private  printing  office, 

1878. 


COPY-RIGHT 

BY  WILLIAM  W.  WHE1LDON, 
1878. 


Author's  address  :  Concord,  Mass. 


PRESS-WORK 

BY  RAND,  AVERY  AND  CO.. 


FRANKLIN  STREET, 

Boston. 


TO  THE  MEMORY  OF 


JOSEPH  WARREN, 

WHO  PROMPTED  THE  PATRIOTIC  MOVEMENTS  OF  APRIL  18tII 


PAUL  REVERE, 

WHOSE  FORESIGHT  PROVIDED  FOR  THE  SIGNAL  LANTERNS  ; 


ROBERT  NEWMAN, 

WHO  DISPLAYED  THE  LANTERNS  FROM  THE  CIICRCII  STEEPLE  ; 

AND  THEIR  PATRIOTIC  ASSOCIATES, 

THIS  VOLUME 

IS  RESPECTFULLY  INSCRIBED, 


BY  THE  AUTHOR. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


The  attention  of  the  writer  was  called  to  the  subject  of  Paul 
Reveres  Signal  Lanterns  subsequently  to  the  action  of  the 
City  Council  of  1876,  in  relation  to  a  tablet  and  inscription  to 
be  placed  on  Christ  Church ,  to  indicate  the  place  where  they 
were  shown.  It  was  somewhat  surprising  that  any  doubt  should 
be  thrown  upon  the  accepted  history  of  that  incident,  either  as 
to  the  place  where  the  lanterns  were  displayed,  the  sole  au¬ 
thor  and  the  purpose  of  them,  or  the  party  by  whom  they  were 
shown.  It  is  a  satisfaction  to  know  that  that  doubt  has  been 
dispelled,  and  it  is  now  believed  the  true  history  must  be  con¬ 
sidered  as  established. 

In  preparing  the  history  of  this  interesting  event,  —  preced¬ 
ing  the  expedition  of  Gen.  Gage's  troops  to  Concord,  —  the  sin¬ 
gle  question  of  the  location  of  the  signal  lanterns,  was  by  no 
means  the  only  consideration.  Statements  and  assertions,  con¬ 
nected  with  this  incident,  or  brought  into  the  discussion,  have 
been  made,  which,  if  any  value  is  to  be  placed  on  the  truthful¬ 
ness  of  history  and  the  honor  of  those  who  were  engaged  in 
making  it,  ought  to  be  met  and  answered.  Without  particular¬ 
izing  any  of  these,  some  of  which  have  been  considered,  the 


6 


INTRODUCTION. 


sole  aim  has  been  to  reach  the  truth,  as  clearly  as  possible,  by 
the  light  of  the  evidence  now  accessible. 

At  the  second  or  third  hearing  given  by  the  committee  of  the 
City  Council  on  the  subject,  in  December,  1877,  after  a  post¬ 
ponement  of  the  purpose  for  a  year,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Burroughs, 
Rector  of  Christ  Church,  offered  for  the  consideration  of 
the  committee  some  facts  and  opinions,  included  in  the  present 
history,  but  necessarily  in  an  incomplete  form.  Since  that 
time  the  history  of  the  incident  has  been  completed,  and  is  now 
presented  for  the  consideration  of  the  Council  and  the  public, 
and  it  is  hoped  that  it  will  be  found  to  confirm  the  action  of  the 
City  Council  in  placing  the  tablet  upon  Christ  Church  and 
prove  to  be  a  correct  and  satisfactory  account  of  the  interesting 
event  which  has  been  so  suitably  commemorated. 

The  Author. 


Concord.  Mass  ,  October  17,  1878. 


ORDER  OF  NARRATION. 


PAGE- 

I.  Preliminary  History.  9 
Propose  1  Tablet  on  Christ  Church. 
North  End  Mechanics. 

Committees  of  Safety  and  Supplies 
Message  to  Hancock  aud  Adams. 

<  >ngin  of  the  Signal  Lanterns. 
Action  of  the  Committees. 

Meeting  at  Menotomy. 

II.  Devens  Memorandum.  13 

Character  of  the  paper. 

Mr.  Frothiugham's  Statements. 
Evidence  of  the  Signal  Lanterns. 
Value  of  the  Memorandum. 

III.  Revere’s  Narrative.  18 

Its  chwacter. 

Second  message  to  Lexington. 
Interview  with  Devens. 

Who  saw  the  Signal  Lanterns. 
Character  of  Paul  Revere. 

IV.  North  End  Churches.  21 

1.  Second  Church. 

2.  New  North  Church. 

3.  New  Brick  Church. 

4.  Christ  Church  or  North  Church. 


PAGE. 

V.  Question  Considered.  24 

Second  or  “old  North  church  ” 
Revere's  View  of  Boston. 

British  Troops  in  North  Square. 
Dismissal  of  Rev.  Dr.  Byles. 

New  Brick  Church  steeple. 

Revere's  accuracy. 

Longfellow's  Poem. 

In  Conclusion. 

VI.  Traditionary  History.  31 

Character  of  the  evidence. 

“  What,  then,  is  tradition?” 

The  Newmar,  Family. 

Traditionary  Testimory. 

VII.  Pulling  Tradition.  31 

Its  bold  announcement. 

The  Pulling  Story. 

Town  Committees,  1776. 

Reported  arrest  of  Newman. 

Escape  of  Pulling. 

VIII.  Concluding  Remarks.  50 

Conclusions. 

Historical  Inaccuracies.  52 


REVOLUTIONARY  MEMORIALS. 


I  Tablet  on  Christ  Church 

Description  and  dimensions. 
Purpose  of  Signal  Lanterns. 
Proposed  Inscription. 
Correspondence  and  Correction. 
Inscription  adopted. 

II.  Roxbury  High  Fort. 

Description  of  the  Fort. 
Description  of  the  Monument. 
Inscription. 


III.  Dorchester  Heights. 

OecupUion  of,  6rst  proposed,  1777». 

“  deeided,  Feb.  1776. 

Occupied  March  4th,  1776. 

“  Novel  mode  of  Defence.” 
Inscription  on  the  monument. 

New  Chapter  in  the  History  of 

the  Concord  Fight. 

Events  and  Movements  relating 

O 

to  the  Nineteenth  of  April. 


On  the  30th  of  March,  Gage  sent  out  several  regiments  under  Earl  Percy, 
to  Jamaica  Plain,  across  to  Dorchester,  and  over  the  Neck  into  town  again  ;  and 
it  was  thought  at  the  time  they  went  out  that  they  might  be  going  to  Concord, 
which  it  was  supposed  they  soon  would  do. 

1775.  April  14.  “If  the  enemy  moves  into  the  country,  (which  by  all 
their  manoeuvres  at  present,  there  remains  no  dispute  of,)  the  country  are  de¬ 
termined  to  oppose  ’em  ;  at  least  if  they  proceed  in  a  hostile  manner.'’  [An¬ 
drews’  letters,  page  402. 

“Dr.  Warren,  by  a  mere  accident,  had  notice  of  it,  [the  movement  of  the 
troops  towards  the  bottom  of  the  common,]  just  in  time  to  send  messengers 
over  the  Neck  and  across  the  ferry  to  Lexington,  before  the  orders  for  prevent¬ 
ing  every  person's  quitting  the  town  were  executed.”  [Gordon’s  History. 


PAUL  REVERE’S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


I.  PRELIMINARY  HISTORY. 

It  appears  to  have  been  the  purpose  of  the  late  City  Gov¬ 
ernment  to  place  a  Memorial  Tablet  upon  Christ  Church,  on 
Salem  street,  with  the  intention  of  indicating  that  as  the  build¬ 
ing  from  which  the  signal  lanterns  of  Paul  Revere  were  shown, 
on  the  18th  of  April,  1775;  and  this  purpose  seems  to  have 
been  postponed  by  reason  of  some  doubts  thrown  upon  the  sub¬ 
ject  by  a  recent  communication  addressed  to  the  Mayor  of  the 
city.*  The  writer  of  this  communication,  for  the  information 
which  he  communicates  and  the  conclusions  which  he  reaches, 
relies  upon  a  memorandum,  without  date,  in  the  hand  writing 
of  Richard  Devens,  made  [as  he  supposes],  not  long  after  this 
period  ;  in  a  letter  written  by  Paul  Revere,  printed  in  1789; 
and  in  various  contemporary  authorities,”  which  are  not  men¬ 
tioned.  Of  these  papers,  and  the  conclusions  expressed,  we 
propose  to  speak. 

North  End  Mechanics, 

It  is  well  known  that  the  abortive  attempt  of  Colonel  Leslie- 
to  seize  the  cannon  at  Salem,  in  the  latter  part  of  February, 
1775,  put  the  patriots  of  Boston  on  the  watch  for  any  new 


*  Letter  to  His  Honor  Samuel  C.  Cobb,  Mayor,  and  Gentlemen  of  the  City 
Council,  by  Richard  Frothingham.  Boston,  December  28,  1876. 


10 


PAUL  REVERE’ S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


movement  on  the  part  of  General  Gage,  and  it  was  very  early 
suspected  that  he  had  designs  upon  the  cannon,  stores  and  am¬ 
munition,  at  Concord,  of  which  it  was  afterwards  known,  lie 
was  fully  informed  by  the  treachery  of  Dr.  Church. 

Paul  Revere  and  about  thirty  other  “  North  End  Mechan¬ 
ics,”  in  the  Fall  of  1774-,  formed  themselves  into  a  committee 
to  watch  the  movements  of  the  British  soldiers,  and  held  their 
meetings  at  the  famous  Green  Dragon  Tavern,  until  they  sus¬ 
pected  a  traitor  there.  Towards  Spring  they  took  turns,  two  by 
two,  to  watch  the  soldiers  by  patrolling  the  streets  during  the 
nights.  Revere  says, 

[April  15.]  “  The  Saturday  night  previous  to  the  19th  of 
April,  about  12  o’clock  at  night,  the  boats  belonging  to  the 
transports,  were  all  launched  and  carried  under  the  sterns  of 
the  men-of-war,”  and  subsequently  it  was  learned  that  “  the 
grenadiers  and  light  infantry  were  all  taken  off  duty.” 

Committees  op  Safety  and  Supplies. 

On  this  day,  at  Concord,  the  Provincial  Congress,  which  had 
been  in  session  since  the  22d  of  March,  adjourned  at  the  close 
of  an  afternoon  session,  which  commenced  at  3  o’clock.  The 
Committee  of  Safety  and  Committee  of  Supplies,  were  also  in 
session  at  Concord,  and  did  not  adjourn  at  the  same  time  (Sat¬ 
urday)  having  important  business  before  them.  Mr.  Devens 
was  a  member  of  Congress  and  of  the  Committee  of  Safety,  and 
was  present  at  Concord  during  the  sessions  of  these  bodies ;  but 
was  not,  at  this  time,  Commissary. 

First  Message  to  Hancock  and  Adams. 

[Sunday,  April  16.]  On  this  day,  in  consequence  of  the  dis¬ 
covery  of  the  launching  of  the  boats,  (which  had  been  laid  up 


PVUL  revere' s  signal  lanterns. 


11 


during  the  winter.)  Dr.  Warren  desired  Paul  Revere  to  go  to 
the  residence  of  Rev.  Jonas  Clark,  in  Lexington,  with  a  mes¬ 
sage  to  Messrs.  Hancock  and  Adams,  who  passed  their  nights 
at  Mr.  Clark's  house,  while  attending  the  sessions  of  Congress, 
at  Concord,  where,  of  course,  accommodations  must  have  been 
very  limited  for  so  large  a  body,  as  there  were  216  members  at 
Cambridge  when  the  Congress  adjourned  to  Concord.  Revere, 
taking  a  horse  from  Charlestown,  delivered  his  message  as 
directed,  and  it  is  generally  stated  that  Hancock  immediately 
forwarded  it  to  Concord ;  but  this  is  probably  a  mistake. 

First  Idea  of  the  Signals. 

We  come  now  to  the  origin  of  the  signals  :  In  the  afternoon  , 
Revere  returned  to  Boston,  making  a  stop  at  Charlestown,  to 
leave  his  horse.  It  had  occurred  to  him  that  if  a  movement  of 
the  troops  should  be  made  towards  Concord,  at  night,  it  might 
be  difficult  for  any  one  to  cross  the  river  from  Boston  to  alarm 
the  country,  as  the  ferry  boats  were  hauled  alongside  the  man- 
of-war  at  9  o'clock.  In  view  of  this,  Revere  says,  I  agreed 
with  a  Colonel  Conant  and  some  other  gentlemen,  that  if  the 
British  went  out  by  water,  we  would  show  two  lanterns  in  the 
North  Church  Steeple,  and  if  by  land,  one,  as  a  signal.” 

Mr.  Devens,  at  this  time  was  at  Concord,  and  “  in  all  hu¬ 
man  probability,”  never  knew  anything  about  this  agreement 
with  Colonel  Conant  ;  and  certainly  never  made  any  with  Re¬ 
vere  on  his  own  account. 

On  Sunday  night,  after  he  got  home,  or  Monday  morning, 
Revere  reported  to  Warren  the  performance  of  his  commission, 
and  made  the  necessary  arrangements  for  the  display  of  the 
nromised  signals,  should  they  become  necessary. 


12 


PAUL  REVERE’S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


[Monday,  April  17.]  No  further  developments  or  move¬ 
ments,  on  the  part  of  Gen.  Gage,  are  reported,  although  the 
preparations  must  have  been  going  forward  unseen. 

Doings  of  the  Committees. 

At  Concord,  however,  the  two  committees  of  Safety  and  Sup¬ 
plies,  most  of  whom  had  remained  there  over  Sunday,  (except¬ 
ing  Hancock,  who  went  to  Lexington,  as  usual,)  were  in  ses¬ 
sion  at  Mr.  Taylor’s  House.  Messrs.  Hancock,  Devens,  Heath, 
White,  Palmer,  Gardner,  Watson,  Orne  and  Pigeon,  of  the 
Committee  of  Safety,  were  present ;  and  Messrs.  Lee,  Gill, 
Cheever,  Gerry  and  Lincoln,  of  the  Supplies  Committee  —  four¬ 
teen  in  all,  and  those  present  proceeded  to  business  before  Han¬ 
cock  arrived.  They  “  Voted  that  the  two  four-pounders  now  at 
Concord,  be  mounted,  and  that  Colonel  Barrett  be  desired  to 
raise  an  Artillery  company,”  &c.  and  also  to  “  provide  an  in¬ 
structor.”  It  was  then  voted  “  that  when  these  Committees 
adjourn,  it  be  to  Mr.  Wetherby’s,  at  the  Black  Horse,  Menot- 
omy,  on  Wednesday,  10  o’clock.” 

After  these  proceedings  undoubtedly,  Hancock  arrived  from 
Lexington,  and  he  at  once  communicated  the  message  which  he 
had  received  from  Dr.  Warren  —  whereupon  the  meeting  took 
very  different  action  frcm  that  which  they  had  already  adopted. 
It  was  at  once  voted,  !l  that  the  four  six  pounders  be  transport¬ 
ed  to  Groton,  and  put  under  the  care  of  Colonel  Prescott.” — 
[Col.  James  Prescott,  who  was  a  member  of  the  Provincial 
Congress  from  Groton.] 

“Voted,  That  two  seven-inch  Brass  mortars  be  transported 
to  Acton.”  And  then  it  was  “  Voted,  That  the  two  commit- 


PAUL  REYERE'S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


13 


tees  adjourn  to  IVetherby's  at  10  o'clock.”  notwithstanding 
the  previous  vote  to  adjourn  over  to  Wednesday. 

Meeting  at  Menotomy. 

“Menotomy,  Tuesday,  April  18th.”  The  two  committees 
met.  and  twelve  of  the  fourteen  members  at  Concord,  were  pre¬ 
sent  :  Hancock  and  Gill  absent.  At  this  meeting  more  than 
twenty  votes  were  passed  relating  to  the  removal  and  disposi¬ 
tion  of  cannon,  ammunition,  stores,  & c.  Part  of  the  provis¬ 
ions  were  ordered  to  be  removed  from  Concord  and  the  vote 
directing  powder  to  be  sent  from  Leicester,  to  that  town,  to  be 
made  into  cartridges,  was  reconsidered.  Colonel  Barrett  was 
directed  to  bury  the  musket  balls  in  some  safe  place,  “and  let 
the  commissary  [PigeonJ  only  be  informed  thereof.” 

As  if  having  some  idea  of  the  events  to  follow.  —  soon  after 
made  probable,  —  the  committees  adjourned  to  meet  on  Wed¬ 
nesday  at  Woburn. 

II.  THE  DEVENS  MEMORANDUM. 

Mr.  Devens  was  present  at  Menotomy,  and  the  “  Memoran¬ 
dum”  wives  his  account  of  his  return  to  Charlestown,  after  a 
lonw  absence,  having  but  small  knowledge  of  what  was  going 
on  in  Boston,  and  certainly  none  whatever  concerning  the  sig¬ 
nals  which  Revere  had  promised  and  provided  for.  The  fol¬ 
lowing  is  the  memorandum  in  full  : 

“  On  the  18th  of  April,  ’75.  Tuesday,  the  committee  of  safe¬ 
ty,  of  which  I  was  then  a  member,  and  the  committee  of  sup¬ 
plies,  sat  at  Newell’s  tavern,  at  Menotomy.  A  great  number 


14 


PAUL  REVERE’ S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


of  British  officers  dined  at  Cambridge.  After  we  had  finished 
the  business  of  the  day,  we  adjourned  to  meet  at  Woburn,  on 
the  morrow,  — left  to  lodge  at  Newell’s,  Gerry,  Orne  and  Lee. 
Mr.  Watson  and  myself  came  off  in  my  chaise  at  sunset.  On 
the  road  we  met  a  great  number  of  B.  0.  and  their  servants 
on  horseback,  who  had  dined  that  day  at  Cambridge.  We  rode 
some  way  after  we  met  them,  and  then  turned  back  and  rode 
through  them,  went  and  informed  our  friends  at  Newell's.  We 
stopped  there  till  they  came  up  and  rode  by.  We  then  left 
our  friends,  and  I  came  home,  after  leaving  Mr.  Watson  at 
his  house.  I  soon  received  intelligence  from  Boston,  that 
the  enemy  were  all  in  motion,  and  were  certainly  prepar¬ 
ing  to  come  out  into  the  country.  Soon  afterward,  the  signal 
agreed  upon  was  given  :  this  was  a  lanthorn  hung  out  in  the 
upper  window  of  the  tower  of  the  N.  Ch.  towards  Charles¬ 
town.  I  then  sent  off  an  express  to  inform  Messrs.  Gerry,  &c., 
and  Messrs.  Hancock  and  A.,  who  I  knew  were  at  the  Rev.  Mr. 

- ,  at  Lexington,  that  the  enemy  were  certainly  coming  out. 

I  kept  watch  at  the  ferry  to  watch  for  the  boats  till  about  elev¬ 
en  o’clock,  when  Paul  Revere  came  over  and  informed  that  the 
T.  were  actually  in  the  boats.  I  then  took  a  horse  from  Mr. 

Larkin’s  barn,  and  sent  him - .  I  procured  a  horse  and 

sent  off  P.  Revere  to  give  the  intelligence  at  Menotomy  and 
Lexington.  He  was  taken  by  the  British  officers  before  men¬ 
tioned,  before  he  got  to  Lexington,  and  detained  till  near  day.” 

The  reader  will  notice  the  loose  and  irreconcilable  character 
of  these  statements  ;  the  concluding  mis-statement,  and  perceive 
that  it  is,  what  it  purports  to  be,  a  mere  memorandum  of  a 
most  indefinite  character.  Referring  to  the  time  of  the  occur¬ 
rences  described,  Mr.  Devens  says,  “I  was  then  a  member  of  the 
committee  of  safety.”  As  he  was  one  of  this  committee  until 
about  July  19,  the  memorandum  was  not  written  within  three 
months  after  the  events  at  least.  This  makes  the  mistake  con- 


PAUL  REYERE’S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


15 


cerning  the  capture  of  Revere  still  more  surprising,  especially 
as  Mr  Devens  was  at  Concord  again,  according  to  the  date  of 
his  letter  calling  congress  together,  on  the  20th,  and  it  would 
seem,  must  have  known  what  had  occurred. 

After  he  reached  home  Mr.  Devens  says,  he  “  soon  received 
intelligence  from  Boston"  :  but  as  Revere  brought  over  the  news 
to  the  party  constantly  on  the  watch  for  it,  it  is  probable  that 
Mr.  Devens's  news  came  from  them.  He  also  speaks  of  sending 
an  express  to  Menotomy,  but  did  not  furnish  a  horse,  and  prob¬ 
ably  refers  to  Revere,  as  none  other  has  ever  been  heard  of.  — 
He  says,  “I  procured  a  horse  and  sent  off  P.  Revere,'’  but 
Revere  speaks  of  getting  his  horse  before  he  met  Mr.  Devens, 
and  probably  had  the  same  horse  he  had  used  on  Sunday.  — 
These,  however,  are  not  as  remarkable  as  some  other  statements, 
based  on  this  memorandum,  yet  to  be  noticed. 

Mr.  Frotiiingiiam's  Statements. 

Mr.  Frothingham  says,  “  The  setting  of  the  lanterns  ^yas  cer¬ 
tainly  an  interesting  incident  of  that  evening  ;  but  the  facts 
here  stated  [  ?  ]  show  that  it  was  not  the  only  warning  of  the 
march  of  the  British  troops,  nor  was  it  the  earliest  warning.” 
No  facts  are  stated,  and  none  are  known  to  us,  to  authorise  this 
last  statement,  so  unjust  towards  that  heroic  and  inde¬ 
fatigable  patriot,  Paul  Revere,  to  whom  the  whole  honor  of 
the  service,  (save  what  Dawes  might  have  done.)  belongs.  Be¬ 
yond  all  question  “the  setting  cf  the  lanterns”  was  the  earliest 
and  “only  warning  of  the  march  of  the  British  troops ,”  and 
as  such,  was  carried  all  the  way  from  Boston  to  Lexington.  If 
reference  is  intended  to  the  express  which  Mr.  Devem  says  he 


16 


PAUL  REVERE’S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


sent  to  Menotomy,  we  think  no  express  whatever  started  ahead 
of  Revere,  and  if  any  started  after  him,  which  is  not  very 
likely,  as  we  have  said,  was  never  again  heard  of. 

The  next  statement  is  of  the  same  character  and  no  less  un¬ 
true  :  “  Then  it  was  a  private  signal  agreed  upon  between  Paul 
Revere  and  Richard  Devens.”  We  have  already  annihilated 
this  piece  of  fiction.  Mr.  Devens  himself  does  not  make  or  au¬ 
thorise  any  such  statement.  The  agreement  was  solely  with 
Colonel  Conant  and  his  friends,  and  Mr.  Devens  knew  nothing 
whatever  about  it. 

Mr.  Frothingham  makes  another  remarkable  statement  : — 

Meantime  Devens  at  the  ferry  saw  the  signals ;”  but  Mr. 
Devens  himself  is  very  careful  not  to  say  that  he  saw  the 
signals,  and  it  is  very  certain  there  is  no  other  authority  for  the 
statement. 

Mr.  Frothingham  makes  some  further  statements,  as  follows  : 
“ 1  have  no  doubt  that  the  lights  of  the  lanterns  *  *  were 

seen  by  persons  standing  on  the  Charlestown  side.  The  testi¬ 
mony  to  the  fact  is  of  a  remarkable  character.  The  earliest  is 
that  of  Richard  Devens.  Paul  Revere,  in  all  human  probabil¬ 
ity  never  heard  of  it.”  We  think  not. 

These  statements,  like  some  others  already  quoted,  are  “of  a 
remarkable  character,”  to  speak  mildly  of  them.  No  doubt 
“  the  lights  of  the  lanterns”  were  seen  ;  that  is  what  they  were 
put  up  for,  and  the  remarkable  character  of  the  testimony  is 
that  no  man  tells  us  he  saw  them.  The  only  direct  evidence 
of  the  fact,  earliest  and  latest,  is  found  in  the  statement  of  Paul 
Revere,  who  says,  when  he  ‘  •  met  Colonel  Conant  and  several 
others,  they  said  they  had  seen  our  signals .”  They  told  him 


PAUL  REVERE’S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


17 


they  hid  seen  the  lights  and  he  repeats  the  statement.  This  is 
all  that  has  reached  us.  Revere  does  not  say  that  he  saw  them, 
and  Mr.  Devem  simply  says.  the  signal  *  *  was  given.” 

If  he  had  seen  it,  undoubtedly  he  would  have  said  so. 

We  have  thus  seen  where  Mr.  Devens  was  and  how  engaged 
until  late  in  the  evening  of  the  ISth  ;  who  arranged  for  the  sig- 
nals,  and  why  he  proposed  them  ;  who  saw  and  reported  to  him 
that  they  had  seen  them  ;  what  probable  mistakes  Mr.  Dev- 
ens  mvde;  what  erroneous  statements  Mr.  Frothingham  makes, 
and  have  shown  that  the  memorandum,  as  matter  of  history, 
is  of  smill  account.  Mr.  Devens  wrote  it  a  long  time  after 
the  events  mentioned,  from  what  he  heard  and  remembered, — 
not  very  carefully,  we  think, — and  it  is  not  to  be  regard¬ 
ed  as  of  prior  authority.  The  statements  founded  upon  it, 
of  which  we  have  spoken,  are  not  only  wrong  and  unjust  to¬ 
wards  Paul  Revere  and  Dr.  Warren,  but  almost  equally  so  to 
Mr.  Devens,  who  was  engaged  on  important  public  business 
at  Concord  and  Menotomy,  and  did  not  know  what  was  going 
forward  in  Boston,  on  the  18th,  until  he  heard  the  news  brought 
over  by  Paul  Revere.  But  how  such  an  indefinite  paper,  with¬ 
out  either  date  or  signature,  can  be  exalted  to  the  posi¬ 
tion  so  persistently  claimed  for  it,  —  and  assertions  made  on 
its  omissions.  —  we  are  unable  to  see.  The  globose  statement 
that  Paul  Revere  never  heard  of  this  famous  memorandum,  is 
entirely  gratuitous,  and  of  no  possible  consequence  to  him  or  to 
the  history  of  the  event.  The  interesting  question,  as  to  the 
place  where  the  lights  were  shown,  is  not  in  any  degree  affect¬ 
ed  by  the  memorandum  or  the  statements  purporting  to  be 
based  upon  it. 


18 


PAUL  REVERE’S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


III.  PAUL  REVERE’ S  NARRATIVE. 

This  important  personal  narration  of  the  events  preceding 
and  relating  to  the  march  of  the  British  troops  to  Concord,  is 
held  to  be  a  second  authority,  subordinate  to  the  memorandum 
which  we  have  disposed  of.  But  in  no  sense  is  the  memorandum 
of  equal  authority  with  the  narrative  of  Paul  Revere,  which 
stands  alone  as  the  authentic  history  of  the  events  of  the  period. 
Without  this,  and  on  the  Devens  memorandum  only,  Dr.  War¬ 
ren’s  presence  would  not  appear  ;  the  launching  of  boats  and 
movement  of  troops  not  known ;  no  message  sent  to  Hancock 
and  Adams  on  Sunday ;  no  signals  proposed  or  agreed  upon,  and 
if  seen,  not  understood  ;  no  movement  known  until  Revere 
arrived  and  “  informed  that  the  T.  were  actually  in  the  boats,” 
when  Mr.  Devens  appears  and  adds  the  climax,  “I  procured  a 
horse  and  sent  off  P.  Revere  to  give  intelligence  at  Menotomv 
and  Lexington.”*  This  would  be  the  history  as  authorized  by  the 
memorandum,  if  that  were  ‘prior  authority;’  essentially  incom¬ 
plete  and  untruthful,  with  its  real  actors,  —  Warren,  Revere, 
Dawes,  Conant  and  others,  —  wholly  ignored  excepting  Revere, 
who  is  made  the  messenger  of  the  author  of  the  memorandum. 
Warren,  who  had  absented  himself  from  Congress  to  watch  the 
movements  of  Gen.  Gage,  and  who  prompted  all  that  was  done 
to  warn  and  alarm  the  country  in  this  crisis,  and  was  killed  be¬ 
fore  the  memorandum  was  written,  would  not  appear  in  the  his¬ 
tory  at  all.  The  truth  is  Revere’s  narrative,  instead  of  being 


*  “  I  told  them  what  was  acting,  and  went  to  get  me  a  horse.”  [Revere. 


PAUL  REVERE’ S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


10 


a  second  authority,  is  in  fact,  the  only  authority  ;  furnishes  tho 
whole  history,  and  is  the  means  of  securing  to  Warren  the 
honor  that  belongs  exclusively  to  him.  and  which  his  biographer 
has  allowed  another  person  partially  to  appropriate  to  himself. 
It  may  be  true  that  Mr.  Devens,  who  makes  no  allusion  to  Dr. 
Warren,  in  the  matter,  “  knew  what  he  was  talking  about”  in 
his  account  of  the  British  officers,  seen  on  the  road  ;  but  it  is 
pretty  clear,  we  think,  that  this  compliment  must  be  denied, 
when  he  speaks  of  sending  Paul  Revere  to  Mcuotomy  and  Lex¬ 
ington,  as  his  messenger,  and  of  his  seizure. 

Second  Message  to  Lexington. 

On  Tuesday  evening,  18th,  (while  Mr.  Devens  was  riding 
from  Menotomy  to  his  home  in  Charlestown)  at  near  10  o’clock, 
Dr.  Warren,  having  discovered  the  purpose  of  Gen.  Gage,  sent 
“in  great  haste ,”  Revere  says,  “for  me,  and  begged  that 
I  would  immediately  set  off  for  Lexington.”  lie  went  at 
once  and  directed  the  placing  of  the  lanterns  in  the  steeple  ; 
supplied  himself  with  coat  and  boots  ;  took  his  boat  which  ho 
kept  at  the  north  end,  and  two  men  rowed  him  over  to  Charles¬ 
town.  He  then  says  — 

“  They  landed  me  on  the  Charlestown  side.  When  I  got  in¬ 
to  town,  I  met  Colonel  Conant  and  several  others  ;  they  said 
THEY  HAD  SEEN  OUR  SIGNALS.  I  told  them  what  was  actin'', 
and  i cent  to  get  me  a  horse.  I  got  a  horse  of  Deacon  f Mr- 
kin."  W  hile  he  “  went  to  get  a  horse,”  the  news  reached  Mr. 
Devens,  who  is  now  for  the  first  time  mentioned  by  Revere. 

Meeting  with  Mr.  Devens. 

“While  the  horse  was  preparing,”  says  Revere,  “Richard 
Devens,  who  was  one  of  the  Committee  of  Safety,  came  to  me 


20 


PAUL  REVERE  S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


and  told  me  that  he  came  down  the  road  from  Lexington  after 
sundown  that  evening ;  that  he  met  ten  British  officers  all  well 
mounted  and  armed,  going  up  the  road.” 

This  appears  to  be  all  that  Revere  and  Devens  had  to  do  with 
each  other,  somewhat  differently  related,  and  not  only  sets  at 
naught  the  wholly  unfounded  assertion  that  the  lanterns  were 
“a  private  signal  agreed  upon  between  Paul  Revere  and  Rich¬ 
ard  Devens,”  but  corrects  some  other  statements  in  the  memo¬ 
randum,  and  shows  that  the  signal  lanterns,  in  conception  and 
arrangement,  were  exclusively  the  work  of  Paul  Revere. 

The  points  of  Revere’ s  narrative  concerning  the  signals,  are 

1,  his  proposition  and  promise  to  Col.  Conant  to  make  them  ; 

2,  the  place  where  he  would  make  them,  and  3d,  that  they 
were  seen  by  those  for  whose  information  they  were  in¬ 
tended  :  all  these  points  rest  exclusively,  as  we  have  seen,  upon 
his  testimony.  There  is  no  conflict  of  evidence  in  regard  to 
'them  ;  no  question  of  their  truthfulness;  no  other  account  of 
the  events  described,  and  that  is  undoubtedly  the  reason  of  his 
writing  the  narrative  when  he  did,  for  the  historical  society. 
Revere  was  the  only  person,  excepting  those  employed  by  him, 
who  knew  of  his  arrangements  or  could  give  any  account  of 
them.  The  narrative  was  printed  in  1798,  while  he  held  the 
position  of  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  which  was  held 
by  Warren  when  Revere  was  his  messenger. 

Not  a  word,  we  think,  is  to  be  added  to  this  history,  and 
that  which  has  been  added  to  it  is  not  true.  We  have  evidence 
that  the  signals  were  made  as  promised,  and  were  seen,  and  the 
purpose  of  them,  if  anything  had  happened  to  Revere,  would 
have  been  accomplished  through  their  instrumentality. 


PAUL  REVERE'S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


21 


IV.  THE  NORTH  CHURCHES. 

There  were  during  the  period  referred  to  in  this  history 
four  churches,  or  meeting-houses,  at  the  North  End,  which 
were  respectively  Killed,  or  spoken  of  and  known,  at  some 
time,  as  the  North  Church,  the  new  North  Church,  or  the  old 
North  Church,  namely  : 

1.  The  first  of  these  in  the  order  of  time,  was  established  in 
lt>48,  as  the  Second  Church  This  was  on  North  Square  ; 
was  burnt  in  1676  ;  rebuilt  in  1677,  of  wood,  and  was  des¬ 
troyed  by  the  British  soldiers,  by  order  of  General  Howe,  in 
1775-6,  and  was  not  rebuilt.*  This  was  known  as  the  North 
Church  in  1722  and  1732,  and  later  than  this,  “the  old  North 
Church.”  After  its  destruction,  the  society  in  1770,  went  to 
the  New  Brick,  with  their  pastor,  Dr.  Lathrop,  in  Hanover  street, 
(then  Middle  street),  and  the  two  formed  one  society.  As  Dr. 
Lathrop's  was  the  senior  society,  or  perhaps  the  largest  society, 
thev  retained  their  designation  as  the  Second  Church  anil  pre¬ 
served  the  name  of  “  the  Old  North  Church,”  and  thus  absorb¬ 
ed  the  New  Brick. 

•  December  14,  1775,  General  Howe  ordered  the  troops  to  take  down  the 
old  north  meeting-house  for  the  lumber  [to  build  barracks],  and  a  hundred 
old  wooden  dwelling-houses  and  other  buildings  for  fuel.’ 

1770,  January  16.  The  Old  North  Meeting-house  pulled  down  by  order 
of  General  Howe,  for  fuel  for  refugees  and  tories.— [Newell’s  Journal. 

In  both  these  quotations  it  is  called  “  the  old  north  meeting-house,”  and  we 
think  was  eery  seldom  called  9imply  “  the  north  church. 


22 


PAUL  REVERE’S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


2.  The  New  North  Church,  1714.  This  was  on  the  corner 
of  North  and  Clark  streets,  — a  house  of  small  dimensions, — 
Rev.  John  Webb,  pastor  ;  taken  down  in  1802,  and  rebuilt  as 
now.  Peter  Thatcher  was  settled  here  as  colleague  with  Mr. 
Webb,  in  1720,  and  this  produced  a  dissension  which  resulted 
in  the  building  of  the  New  Brick  Church.  Strictly  speaking 
this  was  never  called  the  North  Church,  but  tvas  known  as  the 
New  North  Church,  and  scarcely  needs  to  be  mentioned  in  this 
connection  on  account  of  its  location. 

\ 

3.  The  New  Brick  Church  was  finished  for  dedication,  May, 
1721.  It  was  located  on  Middle  street,  and  in  1779,  four 
years  after  Revere’s  great  exploit  of  April,  1775,  was  absorb¬ 
ed  by  “  the  Old  North  Church,”  taking  its  pastor,  its  rank 
and  its  name.  [Paul  Revere  was  a  member  of  the  New  Brick 
Church  in  1763,  and  of  course  of  the  Old  North  Church,  by 
the  union  of  1779  ;  but  never  was  a  member  of  the  society  in 
North  Square.]  In  October,  1779,  it  was  invited  to  the  ordi¬ 
nation  of  Rev.  Mr.  Eckley,  as  £ !  the  north  church ,  under  the 
pastoral  care  of  Rev.  Mr.  Lathrop” ;  and  at  a  later  period,  a 
sermon  bears  the  imprint  “By  John  Lathrop,  D.  D.,  pastor  of 
the  Old  North  Church .”  So  the  fact  cannot  be  questioned 
that  after  the  union  in  1779,  the  New  Brick  church  became 
the  Old  North  church  ;  but  was  never  so  called  when  Revere 
caused  his  lanterns  to  be  shown  in  the  North  Church  Steeple. 

4.  Christ  Church,  in  Salem  street,  was  formed  in  1722. — 
This  church  was  called  “  the  North  Church”  very  naturally  by 
the  denomination  to  which  it  belonged  ;  and  this  title  came  to 
be  recognized  very  generally  by  the  public,  a  large  part  of  the 


PAIL  REYERE’S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


23 


people  at  this  time,  rigidly  discriminating  between  a  church  and 
a  meeting-house.  It  was  spoken  of  as  the  “  North  or  Christ 
church,”  in  1723.  In  1768,  Rev.  John  Graves,  of  Providence, 
wrote  of  it  as  “  the  North  Church  in  Boston,  where  the  late 
Dr.  Cutler  was  their  long  and  faithful  pastor.”  Mr.  Win.  II. 
Montague,  still  living  in  Boston,  whose  father  was  pastor  of  the 
church  in  1702  and  previously,  says  “  I  have  always  heard  my 
father  call  the  Episcopal  Church  in  Salem  street,  the  North 
Church.”  Mr.  Abbott  Lawrence,  in  a  letter  before  us,  dated 
August,  1846,  expresses  the  reverence  he  entertains  for  that 
good  old  structure  ;  the  North  Church,’  as  it  was  called  when  I 
was  a  boy.”  But  there  is  no  need  of  multiplying  evidence  on 
this  point,  which  is  not  now  disputed.  It  is  beyond  a  doubt 
that  at  the  time  of  the  lanterns,  Christ  Church  was  generally 
spoken  of  and  known  as  the  North  Church,  but  not  as  the  old 
North  Church,  a  phrase  which  belonged  exclusively  for  many 
years  to  the  old  meeting-house  in  North  Square,  and  afterwards 
to  the  New  Brick  church. 

In  the  steeple  of  one  of  these  churches,  it  is  certain,  the  sig¬ 
nal  lanterns  ordered  by  Revere,  were  shown  ;  and  it  so  happens 
that  i:  the  old  North  meeting-house,”  in  which  some  persons 
believe  the  lanterns  were  displayed,  was  the  only  church  of  the 
four  that  was  without  a  steeple,  a  fact  which  seems  not  hereto¬ 
fore  to  have  been  allowed  its  proper  weight. 


24 


PAUL  REVERE  S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


Y.  THE  QUESTION  CONSIDERED. 


The  “Second,  or  Old  North  Church,”  meaning  the  old 
meeting-house,  in  North  Square,  not  only  never  had  a  stee¬ 
ple,  but  from  its  location  and  want  of  height,  was  in  no 
respect  adapted  for  the  purpose  in  view.  The  principal 
reason  now,  or  ever  offered,  for  supposing  that  the  belfry  of  this 
meeting-house  was  used  by  Revere,  is  that  it  was  known  at  the 
time  as  “the  North  Church;”  generally,  however,  with  the 
prefix  old ,  as  in  the  contemporary  quotations  and  in  Gen. 
Howe’s  orders  “to  take  down  the  old  north  meeting-house.” 
Excepting  the  force  of  this  construction  there  is  not  a  word  that 
refers  to  this  church,  either  contemporary  or  traditionary,  and 
on  this  slender  basis  the  claim  in  its  behalf  has  been  set  up. 
Paul  Revere  does  not  say  “  the  old  North  church,”  but  the 
“  North  Church  Steeple ,”  and  if  anybody  in  America,  at 
that  time,  knew  what  a  “steeple”  was,  and  would  not  confound 
it  with  “tower”  or  “belfry,”  that  man  was  Paul  Revere. — 
When  he  said  “North  Church  Steeple ,”  therefore,  it  is  certain 
that  he  did  not  mean  the  “  Old  North  meeting-house”  belfry  ; 
and  this  view  would  seem  to  be  decisive  of  the  question. 

Revere’ s  View  of  Boston. 

Now  it  so  happens  that,  in  1774,  Paul  Revere  engraved  for 
the  Royal  American  Magazine,  for  January,  “A  View  of  the 
town  of  Boston,  with  several  ships  of  war  in  the  harbor,”  and 
in  this  engraving  the  belfry  of  the  Old  North  meeting-house, 


PAUL  REVERE’S  SIGNAL  LANTERN'S. 


‘25 


the  towering  steeple  of  the  North  church,  ami  the  lesser  steeples 
of  the  New  North  ami  the  New  Brick,  are  all  shown  :  their 
location,  relations  to  each  other,  ami  their  adaptation  in  these 
respects  to  the  purpose  which  Revere  had  to  accomplish,  will 
be  readily  seen  and  understood.  No  man  knew  better  than  Re¬ 
vere  did  the  object  in  view,  and  to  suppose  that  be  would  take 
a  wholly  inferior  means  —  the  least  conspicuous  of  the  four  — 
when  the  best  possible  place  for  his  purpose  was  open  to  him,  is 
neither  re^isonable  or  probable,  or  consistent  with  the  character 
of  the  man.  We  think  it  absolutely  certain,  therefore,  that  the 
belfry  of  the  North  Square  meeting  house,  was  not  the  place 
used  by  I’aul  Revere  hr  his  signal  lanterns,  but  the  steeple 
of  the  Salem  street  church,  which  was  by  far  the  most  eligible 
for  his  purpose,  and  remains  so  to  this  day. 

British  Troops  in  North  Square. 

In  addition  to  this  it  is  very  positively  stated  that  the  lan¬ 
terns  could  not  have  been  shown  from  the  “old  North  meeting¬ 
house.’ '  hr  the  reason  that  British  troops  were  stationed  in 
North  Square  at  the  time,  and  the  act  would  have  been  seen  at 
once  and  the  party  arrested.  If  this  statement  be  correct,  — 
and  there  might  have  been  a  small  guard  there  as  in  other  parts 
of  the  town,  —  the  fact  goes  very  strongly  to  confirm  the  con¬ 
clusion  already  expressed  * 


•  We  think  then*  is  no  definitive  mention  of  British  troops  in  North  squnre 
ling  to  CoL  W  :n .  Heath  there  were  in  Boeton, 
on  the  2nth  of  Mirrh,  ITT*.,  2^60  troops,  dkpo-.  l  as  follows  :  on  the  Com¬ 
et  Castle  Willi.*-  a  Fort  HHl,  100;  et  the  Neck,  840  ; 

in  Kin*  [Sute]  street,  8).  In  June  following  there  were  over  ten  thousand 
troop*  in  the  town. 


26 


PAUL  REVERE  S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


Dismissal  of  Rev.  Dr.  Byles. 

It  ha3  been  suggested  that  the  Salem  street  church,  being 
Episcopalian,  was  under  English  or  tory  influence,  and  could 
not  be  had  for  Revere’s  purpose.  There  is  abundant  evidence 
that  this  was  not  the  case  in  addition  to  the  fact  of  the  dismis¬ 
sal  of  their  high  tory  pastor,  when,  as  he  wrote  to  a  friend 
afterwards,  much  implacable  temper  was  exhibited.”  He  was 
dismissed  on  the  very  day  on  which  the  signals  were  displayed 
in  the  evening,  and  as  only  a  few  families  continued  in  the 
town,  the  church  was  closed  until  after  the  evacuation.  He 
says,  in  a  letter  dated  October  7,  1775,  “  I  still  offered  to  offici¬ 
ate  to  them  so  long  as  I  continued  in  Boston,  but  they  treated 
my  kind  proposal  with  neglect.  They  chose  rather  to  shut  up 
the  church,  nor  has  it  since  been  opened  for  a  single  Sunday. 
Indeed  it  is  now  scarce  worth  while  to  attempt  it  —  most  of 
them  having  left  town  —  not  more  than  six  or  seven  families 
remaining.”  [The  tory  families  remained  in  town,  and  finally 
went  to  Halifax.]  Dr.  Byles  says,  “  Though  shut  out  from  my 
own  church,  I  frequently  assist  at  the  other  churches  of  the 
town,  and  there  are  several  large  hospitals  of  the  sick  and 
wounded,  which  I  visit  every  week.”  These  were  British  hos-  ‘ 
pitals  in  Boston.  A  national  patriotic  prayer  was  adopted  by 
the  same  parishoners  when  they  returned  to  town  and  the 
church  was  again  opened. 

New  Brick  Church  Steeple. 

In  looking  upon  the  engraving  of  Paul  Revere,  it  will  be 
seen  how  little  available  for  his  purpose  was  the  steeple  of  the 
New  Brick  church,  which  some  persons  believe  was  the  stee¬ 
ple  used  by  him,  and  which  in  1789,  was  his  church,  and  of 


PAUL  REVERES  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


which  he  was  for  years  afterwards  an  active  member :  for 
wherever  he  was.  he  was  active  and  prominent,  lhis  chinch, 
as  we  have  seen,  had  become  the  Second  church,  and  in  \iiuu 
of  this  union,  “  the  Old  North  church,”  and  was  so  known 
when  Revere  s  narrative  was  printed.  It  had  a  steeple  which 
was  superior  for  his  purpose  to  the  North  Square  belfry  ;  but 
at  the  time  the  lanterns  were  displayed,  it  had  no  claim  what¬ 
ever  to  the  name  of  North  church,  while  the  Episcopal  church, 
in  Salem  street,  was  always  known  by  the  Episcopalians  as 
the  North  church,  and  among  all  the  other  denominations, 
this  name  was  more  or  less  common.  It  was  the  only  a\ ail- 
able  church  with  a  steeple,  that  could  have  been  in  177'),  de¬ 
signated  as  the  North  church,  and  if  Revere  wrote  correctly 
as  to  what  he  said  to  Col.  Conant,  the  conclusion  is  inevitable 
that  it  was  in  the  steeple  of  this  church,  and  not  in  that  of  the 
New  Brick,  that  the  lanterns  were  displayed. 

Aj»in  if  Paul  Revere  in  writing  his  narrative,  meant  to 
designate  the  New  Brick  church,  then  the  Old  North  church, 
as  he  very  well  knew,  he  would  not  have  used  the  expression 
“  north  church  steeple  at  all,  but  would  have  said  the  old 
north  church,”  the  “old  north  meeting  house,  or  the  old  north 
belfry,  the  word  steeple  being  entirely  superfluous.  The  word 
“tower.”  used  by  Mr.  Devens,  and  the  word  “belfry,  by  a 
modern  writer,  or  the  phrase  “  belfry-tower,''  used  by  the  poet, 
can  have  no  effect  upon  the  accuracy  of  Revere* s  language, 
whether  used  as  the  equivalent  of  steeple  or  not. 

In  short,  there  is  no  reason  to  question  the  correctness  of 
Paul  Revere’s  narrative  or  the  accuracy  of  his  language  ;  and 
as  we  have  shown,  there  is  no  other  authority  in  the  matter. 


28 


PAUL  REVERE’S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


His  statement  we  repeat  as  follows  :  “  I  agreed  with  a  Colo¬ 
nel  Conant  and  other  gentlemen,  that  if  the  British  went  out  by 
water  we  would  show  two  lanterns  in  the  North  Chvrcli  stee¬ 
ple  ;  and  if  by  land,  one.  as  a  signal  :  for  we  were  apprehen¬ 
sive  it  would  be  difficult  to  cross  the  Charles  River  or  get  over 
Boston  Neck.”  He  said  “in  the  North  church  steeple,”  and 
the  words  cannot  be  made  to  mean  a  meeting-house  without  a 
steeple,  or  a  steeple  on  some  other  church  not  suitable  for  his 
purpose.  He  states  that  Warren,  when  he  sent  for  him,  know¬ 
ing  of  the  movement  of  Gen.  Gage,  had  already  sent  a  messen¬ 
ger  to  Lexington,  over  the  neck  He  then  relates  how  he  got 
across  the  river,  and  was  told  that  his  lanterns  had  been  seen  ; 
how  he  procured  a  horse,  as  he  had  done  on  Sunday,  and  pro¬ 
ceeded  on  his  “Midnight  Ride,"*  so  that  his  arrangement  with 
Col.  Conant,  was  completely  carried  out  ;  and,  as  we  have 
said,  the  object  of  the  signal  lanterns  would  have  been  accom- 


*  We  hive  not  deemel  it  necessary  to  refer  specially  to  the  historical  in¬ 
accuracies  of  the  poet  in  describing  Paul  lievere's  Midnight  Ride.  It  is  ap¬ 
parent,  from  what  has  been  said,  that  the  signal  lights  were  not  made  for 
Paul  Revere's  information,  but  for  Col.  Conant  and  other  gentlemen,  (Mr. 
Devens  included,)  in  case  he  should  not  be  able  to  get  across  the  river  and 
spread  the  alarm  himself  :  of  course,  then,  the  description  of  his  standing  on 
the  opposite  shore,  “  impatient  to  mount  and  ride,’-  watching 

- “  with  eager  search 

“The  belfry-tower  of  the  old  North  church,” 
is  simply  poetry  and  not  history.  It  is  generally  known,  also,  that  Revere, 
after  leaving  Lexington,  was  seized  and  brought  back  without  reaching  Con¬ 
cord,  and  of  course  the  lines  — 

“  It  was  two  by  the  village  clock 

“When  he  came  to  the  bridge  in  Concord  town,” 

are  the  coinage  of  the  poet.  The  alarm  was  given  in  Concord  by  Dr.  Pres¬ 
cott,  who  had  rather  overstaid  the  evening  with  his  lady-love,  at  Lexington  ; 
and  this  might  have  furnished  an  apt  episode  for  the  poet. 


PAUL  REVERE'S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


29 


plished  had  he  been  arrested  or  otherwise  prevented  from  cross¬ 
ing  the  river  that  night. 

The  phrase  “hung  out.”  is  used  in  speaking  of  Reveres  sig¬ 
nal  lanterns  as  a  common  form  of  expression,  but  in  this  case 
without  authority.  They  were  undoubtedly  “shown,”  as  Re¬ 
vere  agreed,  and  not  hung  at  all.  Mr.  Newman  had  no  means 
of  hanging  them,  and  no  doubt  held  them  in  his  hands  with 
out-stretched  arms,  for  a  few  minutes  only,  scarcely,  if  at  all, 
outside  the  wall  of  the  steeple  —  so  that  it  is  certain  Col. 
Conant  and  his  friends  must  have  been  looking  for  them,  and 
knowing  the  loc  ation  of  the  North  church,  knew  precisely  where 
to  look.  They  were  probably  shown  while  Revere  was  crossing 
the  river  below  the  ferry,  which  would  bring  the  top  of  Snow 
Hill  between  him  and  the  steeple;  or  they  may  have  been  dis¬ 
played  while  he  was  getting  his  boots  and  finding  his  men.  The 
fact  that  they  were  so  promptly  shown  proves  that  they  had  been 
previously  provided  for  and  access  to  the  church  secured  with¬ 
out  seeking  the  sexton  at  that  time  of  night  for  the  keys.  We 
very  much  doubt  also  if  anybody  else,  other  than  those  on  the 
watch  at  Charlestown,  saw  the  lanterns  at  all,  and  it  remains  to 
be  discovered  how  Gen.  Gage,  or  the  British  authorities,  knew 
of  them,  if.  in  fict,  they  did  know  of  them  when  they  were 
shown.  Stedman.  the  English  historian,  makes  no  allusion  to 
them  ;  Gordon  docs  not  mention  them,  but  says,  “  When  the 
corps  was  nearly  ready  to  proceed  on  the  expedition,  Dr.  War¬ 
ren,  by  a  mere  accident,  had  notice  of  it  just  in  time  to  send 
messengers  over  the  neck  and  across  the  ferry  to  Lexington,  be¬ 
fore  the  orders  for  preventing  every  person's  quitting  the  town 
were  executed.”  Neither  of  these  authors  mentions  any  pro- 


30 


PAUL  REVERE’S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


ceedings  in  consequence  of  the  display  of  the  lanterns,  as  both 
■would  have  done  had  any  taken  place  in  the  town.  Newell,  in 
his  Diary,  does  not  mention  anything  about  the  lanterns  or  sig¬ 
nal  of  any  kind  ;  and  Andrews,  in  his  letters,  simply  says,  the 
“men  appointed  to  alarm  the  country  upon  such  occasions  got 
over  by  stealth  as  early  as  they  could  and  took  different  routes.” 
Each  of  these  writers  gives  the  particulars  of  whatever  occurred 
in  the  town,  and  the  slightest  occurrences  did  not  escape  their 
notice.  It  seems  almost  impossible  that  the  British  could  have 
taken  any  notice  of  the  affair  without  the  knowledge  of  these 
writers,  or  without  mention  of  it  by  Gen.  Gage  himself  in  some 
of  his  letters. 

In  Conclusion. 

Whoever  inclines  to  take  the  trouble  to  repeat  Col.  Conant’s 
observation  from  the  end  of  the  present  old  bridge,  near  where 
the  ferry  was.  on  the  Charlestown  shore  of  the  river,  will  not 
be  likely  to  doubt  for  a  moment,  that  the  lanterns  were  shown 
from  the  North  [Christ]  Church  steeple.  Or  let  any  per¬ 
son  look  from  almost  any  elevated  position  in  Boston,  sufficient¬ 
ly  commanding  for  the  purpose,  as  from  the  State  House,  City 
Hall,  or  the  Life  Insurance  Company’s  building,  in  Liberty 
Square,  or  better  still,  from  the  North  Church  steeple,  and  he 
will  be  satisfied  of  the  same  thing.  There  was  not  then  any 
other  place  from  which  they  could  have  been  effectively  shown, 
nor  is  there  so  secure  and  eligible  a  place  for  the  same  purpose 
within  the  limits  of  the  city  today. 


PAUL  REVERE’s  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


31 


VL  TRADITIONARY  HISTORY. 

Mr.  Frothingham  has  no  doubt  that  the  “  lights  of  the  lan¬ 
terns  *  *  were  seen  by  persons  standing  on  the  Charlestown 
side  of  the  ferry”  ;  “  the  testimony  to  the  fact  is  of  a  remarka¬ 
ble  character;”  “  the  earliest  is  that  of  Richard  Devons;”  Paul 
Revere,  ‘‘in  his  letter  printed  in  1798,  mentioned  the  same  fact; 
both  agree  substantially;”  and  the  writer  adds  to  these  curious 
assertions  this  remark  :  “  This  constitutes  historical  evidence  of 
a  very  high  character.  Tradition  cannot  stand  against  it.” 

There  is  nothing  in  these  statements  for  tradition  to  stand 
against;  to  prove  or  disprove.  They  indicate  that  the  lanterns 
were  shown  and  were  seen,  and  beyond  this  they  are  of  no  par¬ 
ticular  account/  Revere  said  he  would  show,  in  one  event, 
“two  lanterns  in  the  Snrth  Church  steeple ,”  and  did  so.  Mr. 
Devens  say3  the  signal  was  given,  “  a  lanthorn  hung  out  in  the 
upper  window  of  the  tower  of  the  N.  Ch.  towards  Charlestown.” 
Here  we  have  a  difference  of  statement:  ‘  Two  lanterns”  vs.  “a 
lanthorn,”  “steeple”  vs.  “tower.”  One  of  them  knew  what  he 
was  saying  ;  the  other  repeated  what  he  had  heard.  Revere 
does  not  say  he  saw  them  ;  Devens  docs  not  say  he  saw  it. — 
Revere’s  statement  that  when  he  “  met  Col.  Conant  and  several 
others,  they  said  they  had  seen  our  signal,”  is  prior  and  posi¬ 
tive  evidence,  as  absolute  as  if  Col.  Conant  had  personally 
testified  to  the  same  fact.  All  other  particulars  depend  upon 
tradition  and  inference. 

What,  then,  is  the  tradition,  or  w  hat  is  there  for  tradition  to 
stand  against  ?  The  tradition  is  that  when  Revere  left  Dr. 


32 


PAUL  REVERE’S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


Warren,  he  at  once  called  upon  his  friend,  Robert  Newman, 
sexton  of  the  North  church,  and  “  desired  him  to  make  the  sier- 
nals,”  as  had  been  previously  arranged,  from  the  steeple. 
This  statement,  as  far  as  the  “steeple”  and  the  “friend”  of  Re- 
ever  are  concerned,  includes  all  there  is  of  tradition,  touching 
the  showing  of  the  signal  lanterns;  and  this  tradition,  supported 
by  and  confirming  the  narrative  of  Paul  Revere,  after  having 
been  received,  accepted  and  talked  about,  as  veritable  history, 
for  a  hundred  years,  has  recently  for  the  first  time,  we  believe, 
been  called  in  question  and  disputed  in  its  most  essential  partic¬ 
ulars.  One  of  these,  the  question  as  to  the  church  from  the 
steeple  of  which  the  lanterns  were  shown,  we  presume,  may  be 
considered  as  determined,  not  merely  by  the  action  of  the  city 
government  in  the  premises,  but  by  a  fair  and  reasonable  inter¬ 
pretation  of  the  language  used  by  Paul  Revere,  and  for  other 
reasons  which  have  been  stated  —  all  of  which  will  be  still  fur^ 
ther  verified  by  the  traditionary  testimony  which  we  propose  to 
present.  Possibly  it  may  be  found  that  the  traditionary  testi¬ 
mony  is  the  strongest  in  the  case,  and  is  pretty  much  all  one 
way,  and  that  there  is  nothing  for  it  to  stand  against. 

Tradition,  reasonably  related,  concerning  events  in  times  of 
secrecy  and  peril,  is  not  to  be  slightly  disregarded  ;  much  of 
history  may  depend  upon  it  or  be  confirmed  and  supported  by  it. 
The  period  of  which  we  are  speaking  is  not  so  very  remote,  and 
tradition  comes  down  to  us  through  a  single  generation  ;  men  of 
most  respectable  character  are  living  today  who  knew  Paul  Re¬ 
vere  and  Robert  Newman,  and  have  willingly  testified  of  their 
information  on  this  subject.  These  men,  when  boys,  used  to 
play  together  in  Robert  Newman’s  yard,  on  the  corner  of 
Sheafe  and  Salem  streets ;  and  their  uniform  testimony  is,  that 


PAIL  REVERES  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


33 


thev  li vet-1  at  the  North  End.  seventy  or  eighty  years  ago.  and 
that  they  always  heard  and  understood  that  the  signal  lanterns 
of  Paul  Revere  were  shown  in  the  steeple  of  Christ  Church, 
by  Robert  Newman,  the  sexton.  This  story  was  common  with 
them  and  they  never  heard  it  contradicted.  They  never  heard 
the  names  of  any  other  persons,  or  any  other  church,  mentioned 
in  connection  with  the  transaction,  while  the  subject  must  have 
been  a  matter  of  frequent  conversation  in  their  presence  and 
among  themselves,  during  many  years.  We  prefer,  however, 
to  state  this  matter  more  particularly  in  the  language  of  the 
gentlemen  referred  to. 

The  Newman  Family. 

Robert  Newman,  the  sexton,  was  the  youngest  son  of  Tho¬ 
mas  Newman,  a  merchant  and  importer  of  Boston,  who,  becom¬ 
ing  unfortunate  in  business,  apprenticed  his  two  younger  sons, 
John  and  Robert,  to  trades,  and  when  older  they  both  became 
enrollel  in  the  band  of  North  End  mechanics.  John,  who  had 
a  great  love  for  music,  became  organist  of  Christ  Church,  and 
Ro’wrt,  when  the  times  became  hard,  took  the  position  of  sex¬ 
ton.  which  he  retained  during  his  life  time.  His  youngest  son 
being  named  after  the  Rector,  Rev.  Samuel  Haskell,  he  desired 
to  adopt  the  child  when  the  father  died.  They  were  both 
freemasons,  and  after  the  war,  Robert  was  an  officer  in  Saint 
John's  Lodge,  and  stood  well  with  the  prominent  members  of 
the  fraternity,  one  of  whom,  Ilenry  Fowle,  became  tho  guardian 
of  his  children.  Revere  and  the  Newmans  were  pupils  in 
Master  Tileston's  school  :  playmates  when  boys,  mechanics  and 
patriots  when  men.  Another  brother,  Thomas,  was  a  manu¬ 
facturer  in  England,  and  missed  a  fortune  from  his  relative,  Sir 


34 


PAUL  REVERE’s  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


Thomas  Churchman,  for  whom  lie  was  named,  on  account  of  his 
adherence  to  the  cause  of  his  native  land.  Some  of  his  letters 
exhibit  very  forcibly  the  strength  of  his  convictions.  In  Jan¬ 
uary,  1784,  he  wrote  to  his  two  brothers  as  follows,  u  After  a 
silence  of  many  years,  (occasioned  by  the  rash,  violent  and 
inhuman  measures  of  a  late  execrable  administration.)  I  take 
the  earliest  opportunity  to  congratulate  you  on  the  return  of 
peace,  and  above  all,  the  freedom  and  independence  of  my  native 
and  injured  country.  A  nobler  cause  than  that  which  has 
drawn  the  sword  and  fired  the  indignation  of  every  worthy  son 
of  America,  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  annals  of  the  world  ;  a 
cause  that  has  been  supported  with  a  degree  of  firmness,  valor, 
judgment,  spirit  and  perseverance  almost  without  example  ;  a 
cause  involving  the  common  rights  of  mankind,  and  the  success 
of  which  has  occasioned  inexpressible  pleasure  and  heartfelt  joy 
in  every  free  state  upon  earth.”  In  another  letter  he  says, 
“  your  sentiments  and  mine  respecting  the  American  war  are 
exactly  the  same ;  it  was  an  infamous  measure  and  has  liber¬ 
ated  the  country  it  was  intended  to  enslave.”  In  a  previous 
letter  he  speaks  of  the  execrable  war,  and  says  Hancock  and 
Adams  will  be  remembered  after  the  British  administration  is 
forgotten.  There  was  no  toryism  in  the  family. 

Traditionary  Testimony. 

Mr.  Joshua  B.  Fowle,  of  Lexington,  under  date  of  July  28, 
1875,  writes  to  Mr.  Samuel  H.  Newman,  son  of  the  sexton, 
and  says,  “  I  have  examined  my  memory  and  old  records.  There 
is  no  dispute,  or  ought  not  to  be,  in  regard  to  the  display  of 
the  lights  at  the  North  church  by  vour  father.  The  Seven 
Bells  church  was  always  called  by  that  name  ;  the  others  were 


PAUL  REVERE’s  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


35 


always  called  meeting-house  1,  old  Puritanic  names,  and  by  no 
other.  I  knew  in  ray  young  diys  rainy  of  the  prominent  men 
who  took  an  active  pirt  in  the  doings  of  those  days.  Taul  Re¬ 
vere  lived  near  rae.  I  have  heard  it  told  over  many  times  and 
never  doubted.  Any  rain  is  beside  himself  to  entertain  a 
doubt.  I  knew  Henry  Purkett.  Mijor  Melville,  and  others  of 
the  Tea  party,  besides  Revere.  It  was  common  talk  at  ray 
father's,  where  they  often  met.  althqpgh  I  can  call  to  mind  they 
were  careful  of  calling  names,  having  some  fear  of  liability, 
which  I  a  boy  thought  was  impressed  on  them  by  the  scenes 
they  had  passed  through.” 

In  August.  1876,  the  same  gentleman  addressed  a  second 
letter  to  Mr.  Newman,  and  says,  “  It  has  always  been  known 
to  North  End  boys  that  Robert  Newman  was  the  man.  *  * 

I  knew  Col.  May.  Capt.  Green,  Major  Melville,  Capt.  Purkett, 
and  first  on  the  list  Paul  Revere  —  a  near  neighbor  to  me  —  as 
likewise  Robert  Newman.  *  *  Mr.  Newman,  as  well  as 

Paul  Revere,  was  educated  at  Mr.  Tileston’s  school,  and  like 
Revere,  was  a  mechanic.  *  *  Mr.  Newman  was  a  man  of 

few  words,  but  prompt  and  active,  capable  of  doing  whatever 
Paul  Revere  wished  to  have  done,  and  all  these  gentlemen  men¬ 
tioned  knew  of  the  act  of  Mr.  Newman's  displaying  the  lan¬ 
terns.  and  if  it  were  not  so,  they  were  the  men  to  say  so.” 

A  letter  from  Jeremiah  Loring,  ninety-one  years  of  age, 
dated  Chelsea.  October,  1876,  says  he  was  born  in  Hull,  and 
resided  in  Boston  85  years,  “  heard  in  his  youth  the  story  of  the 
signal  lanterns  hung  in  the  tower  of  Christ  Church,  by  Robert 
Newman,  on  the  night  of  April  18th,  1775,  from  people  who 
were  living  at  the  time  of  the  occurrence,  and  aruontr  whom  I 


36 


PAUL  REVERE’S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


never  knew  the  truthfulness  of  the  statement  to  be  questioned. 
Robert  Newman  was  personally  known  to  me.” 

Messrs.  Isaac  H.  Carey,  Wm.  L.  Learned,  Thomas  Mair, 
Noah  Lincoln,  and  William  Parkman,  all  old  residents  of  Bos¬ 
ton.  testify  to  the  same  general  statement  regarding  the  place 
and  the  person.  Mr.  Parkman  says,  he  “  often  heard  the  story 
in  his  boyhood,  and  never  heard  the  truthfulness  of  the  state- 
ment  questioned  until  within  a  week  or  two  past.” 

Mr.  John  N.  Barbour,  of  Boston,  writes  as  follows  :  “  In  my 
early  days  I  was  deeply  interested  in  the  history  of  Christ 
Church.  My  grand  parents  occupied  the  house  in  Prince  street, 
in  which  my  father  and  myself  were  born  and  lived  very  many 
years.  *  *  We  boys  always  understood,  in  fact  never  heard 

to  the  contrary,  that  your  father.  Robert  Newman,  who  lived  at 
the  corner  of  Sheafe  and  Salem  streets,  and  in  whose  yard  we 
so  often  enjoyed  our  youthful  sports,  hung  up  the  signal 
lanterns  giving  information  of  the  movements  of  our  British 
enemies.” 

Mrs.  Mary  B.  Swift,  a  resident  when  young  at  the  north 
end  of  Boston,  and  now  dwelling  in  Bowdoin  Square,  at  the  age 
of  84,  a  grand-daughter  of  Col.  Conant,  testifies  that  “  when  she 
was  a  young  lady  it  was  a  frequent  remark  that  the  signal  lan¬ 
terns  were  hung  immediately  before  the  march  to  Lexington,  by 
Mr.  Newman,  then  sexton  of  Christ  church,  in  its  steeple,  and 
that  she  never  throughout  her  life,  has  heard  it  questioned  until 
about  a  year  since.” 

Mr.  Mathew  Binney,  under  date  of  Sept.  26,  1876,  says,  “  I 
have  always  claimed  to  be  a  North  End  boy,  born  October  8, 
1803  My  home  for  the  first  twenty  years  of  my  life  was  the 


PAt'L  REVERE*  S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


37 


estate  owned  by  my  father  on  the  north  side  of  what  was  then 
Nos  5  and  7,  Salem  Place,  since  widened  and  called  Cooper 
street.  I  have  often  heard  in  my  younger  days  of  the  signal 
lanterns  having  been  hung  in  the  steeple  of  the  Old  North 
church,  in  Salem  street,  (or  otherwise  c;»llcd  Christ  Church,) 
giving  information  of  the  British  movement  in  Ii75.  I  have 
always  heard  that  they  were  hung  by  one  Robert  Newman. 

The  Hon  Francis  Brinley.  formerly  of  Boston,  in  a  letter 
dated  Newport.  Nov.  22,  1 S « 7,  addressed  to  Mr.  Deo.  Mount- 
fort*  says,  My  grandfather  attended  Christ  Church,  *  * 

and  I  lived  as  you  know,  within  sound  of  the  chime  of  bells. 

I  frequently  heard  the  history  of  the  church  spoken  of  by  the 
senior  members  of  the  family,  and  have  always  believed  that 
the  signals  were  hung  on  the  spire  of  the  church,  as  the  most 
conspicuous  locality.  I  mean,  of  course,  Christ  church,  in 
Salem  street. 

In  a  second  letter  on  this  subject,  Dec.  21st,  Mr.  Brinley 
says  —  “  My  earliest  recollections  are  of  my  childhood  in 
my  father's  house  on  the  northerly  corner  of  Prince  street,  op  ¬ 
ening  into  Hanover  street.  The  house  was  attractive  especially 

as  to  the  somewhat  ornate  carving  and  arrangements  of  the 

% 

interior.  There  was  a  small  garden  in  front  on  1  rince  street  . 
it  has  disappeared,  and  the  house  is  almost  obliterated.  I 
speak  of  the  premises  as  I  last  saw  them,  several  years  ago." 
“My  grandfather.  Edward  Brinley,  and  grandmother,  were 
part  of  our  family.  He  was  educated  an  Episcopalian,  and 
worshipped  at  Christ  Church,  when  the  Rev.  Mr.  \\  alter  was 
Rector,  who  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Eaton,  the  projector 
of  the  ‘  Salem  Street  Academy,’  of  which  he  was  principal,  and 


38 


PAUL  REVERE’S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


the  late  Judge  Willard  Phillips  his  assistant.  Of  this  school  I 
was  a  pupil. 

“  Now,  I  recall  three  matters  which  were  often  spoken  of  in 
the  family,  connected  with  the  church,  which  kindled  my  youth¬ 
ful  imagination  :  one.  the  delicious  Chime  of  Bells ;  another 
was  the  mad  project  of  some  aspiring  man  who  proposed  to 
fasten  one  end  of  a  rope  to  the  spire  of  the  church  and  the  other 
at  a  corner  of  Prince  and  Back  streets,  down  which  rope  he 
was  to  slide  upon  a  board  ;  the  third  was  the  signal  lights  which 
were  hung  on  the  church  just  before  the  hostile  meetings  at 
Lexington  and  Concord. 

“As  my  grandfather  was  a  Tory,  he  naturally  adverted  to 
this  subject.  ‘  Christ  church'  was  sometimes  called  ‘  North 
church  '  even  in  those  days.  The  other  places  of  worship  were 
called  ‘meeting-houses.’  I  have  from  boyhood  believed  these 
lanterns  were  suspended  from  Christ  church  !  it  was  the  near¬ 
est  lofty  edifice  to  Charlestown,  and  therefore  most  likely  to  be 
selected  ;  it  was  also  the  most  northerly,  and  therefore  was 
occasionally  spoken  of  as  the  Noi'th  church." 

Miss  Maria  Green,  living  in  Weston,  born  in  1793,  is  a 
daughter  of  William  Green,  who  lived  in  Boston,  near  the 
North  Church ,  where  also  her  grand  parents  resided.  She 
heard  nuny  times  from  her  mother  the  story  of  the  lanterns, 
and  says,  “  I  distinctly  remember  that  she  said  her  father,  Capt. 
Thomas  Barnard,  was  engaged  on  that  night  in  watching  the 
movements  of  the  troops  in  order  to  obtain  for  Robert  Newman 
the  necessary  information  concerning  their  departure.  Our  fam¬ 
ily  were  familiar  with  the  story  of  hanging  out  the  lanterns 
owing  to  the  connection  of  Capt.  Barnard  with  it,  and  we  never 


PAUL  REVERE’S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


39 


heard  the  act  ascribed  to  any  other  person  than  Robert  New¬ 
man,  or  to  any  other  place  than  Christ  Church."  Mr.  Green, 
a  brother  of  the  lady  above  mentioned,  who  died  recently  in 
Boston,  is  known  to  have  made  a  similar  statement. 

Mr.  Montague,  son  of  the  Rector  of  that  name,  (who  is  now 
living  in  the  Home  for  Aged  Men,  in  Boston,)  has  heard  his 
father  say  that  the  lanterns  which  gave  warning  on  the  18th  of 
April,  1775,  were  hung  in  Christ  Church. 

Thus  we  have  given,  as  briefly  as  possible,  the  traditionary 
testimony  concerning  Paul  Revere’s  signal  lanterns,  the  place 
where  they  were  shown  and  by  whom  displayed  —  and  we  may 
well  ask,  if  such  testimony,  to  which  much  more  may  be  added, 
can  be  reasonably  or  safely  rejected  ?  This  evidence,  full  and 
complete  as  it  is,  is  all  in  one  direction  ;  supports  and  is  sup¬ 
ported  by  the  account  of  the  occurrences  referred  to  as  written 
by  Paul  Revere  and  printed  in  1798  :  The  testimony  of  Mrs. 
Swift,  grand  daughter  of  Col.  Conant,  confirms  the  arrange¬ 
ment  made  with  him.  and  that  of  Maria  Green,  grand-daughter 
of  Capt.  Barnard,  that  made  with  Mr.  Newman  ;  and  all  this, 
uniform  and  conclusive  as  it  certainly  is,  while  there  is  not  the 
slightest  authority,  record  or  tradition,  in  support  of  the  North 
square  meeting  house,  as  the  place  where  the  lanterns  were 
shown  ;  nor  the  merest  record  or  tradition,  excepting  that  of  the 
Pulling  family,  (which  remains  to  be  considered.)  but  that 
which,  coming  from  ten  or  twelve  different  families,  points 
directly  to  Mr.  Robert  Newman,  the  sexton,  as  the  friend  of 
Paul  Revere,  who  displayed  them. 


40 


PAUL  REVERE’S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


VII.  THE  PULLING  TRADITION. 


In  July,  1876,  in  consequence  of  some  statements  made  at 
the  Centennial  celebration  of  the  18th  of  April,  at  Christ 
Church,  Rev.  John  Lee  Watson,  of  New  Jersey,  published  a 
paper  entitled,  “  the  True  Story  of  the  Signal  Lanterns  in 
Christ  Church.  Boston.”  It  was  then  deemed  to  be  a  very  bold 
announcement,  and  it  is  now  seen  that  the  'whole  relation,  like 
its  title,  is  remarkably  pretentious  and  dogmatic.  The  writer 
hardly  recognizes  the  fact  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  adverse 
evidence  to  his  statement,  and  in  various  other  ways  shows  his 
want  of  knowledge  on  the  subject  upon  which  he  presumes  to 
write  so  positively.  In  the  fourth  line  of  his  paper  he  speaks 
of  u  the  signal  lanterns  which  directed  the  movements  of  Paul 
Revere  on  that  night,”  when  the  fact  is  just  the  opposite  of  this 
statement.  Paul  Revere  did  not  need  signal  lights  to  direct 
his  movements  :  he  directed  the  signal  lights  for  the  informa- 
tion  of  others,  in  case  he  should  be  interrupted  or  seized  :  any 
other  statement  is  a  perversion  of  the  truth. 

The  exclusive  object  of  this  somewhat  remarkable  paper  is  to 
claim  for  John  Pulling,  who  it  seems  was  a  relative  of  the  wri¬ 
ter,  the  honor  of  having  put  up  the  lanterns,  as  against  the 
claim  of  Robert  Newman.  Speaking  of  Newman’s  claim,  he 
says,  “  knowing  that  this  statement  could  not  be  correct,”  &c., 
and  li  believing  the  honor  belonged  rightfully  to  a  member  of 
our  family,”  &c.,  he  asked  the  Rev.  Dr.  Burroughs  for  a  state¬ 
ment  of  the  evidence  in  favor  of  Mr.  Newman.  After  giving  a 
brief  outline  of  the  evidence  furnished  to  him,  and  naming  some 


PAUL  RSVERE’S  SIGNAL  LANTERN’S. 


41 


of  the  parties,  he  says,  •  this  is  all,  and  I  have  no  occ:ision  to 
make  any  remark  upon  their  evidence."  Thus  ignoring  with¬ 
out  further  remark,  the  accepted  history  of  a  hundred  years. 

He  then  proceels  to  tell  his  own  story,  with  the  same  degree 
of  assurance,  and  in  considerable  detail,  ••  derived,”  as  he  says, 
“  principally  from  the  letters  of  my  kinswoman,  the  grand¬ 
daughter  of  John  Pulling,’1  recently  written,  of  course,  and 
wholly  traditionary.  Her  stateni'nts  from  memory  are  the 
basis  of  Mr.  Watson's  knowing:'  against  which  similar  tes¬ 
timony  from  all  the  north  end.  as  it  were,  is  of  no  account :  he 
knows  everybody  eDe  is  wrong  because  she  told  him  !  Yet 
she  never  heard  the  name  of  Mr.  Newman  before,  and  of  course 
never  could  have  heard  the  story  before,  as  told  at  the  north 
end,  where  it  occurred.  Mr.  Fowle  and  others  say  they  never 
heard  of  Mr.  Pulling  before.  and  Mr.  F.  says  “  it  was  well 
known  at  the  north  end  that  Robert  Newman  was  the  man.” 

Mr.  Pulling,  Mr.  Watson  states,  was  a  vestryman,*  and  a 
friend  of  Paul  Revere,  and  adds  *•  they  were  both  also  the  asso¬ 
ciates  of  Hancock.  Warren,  Adams,  and  other  leading  patriots.” 
We  discredit  this  last  statement  entirely,  and  do  not  hesi¬ 
tate  to  express  the  opinion  that  it  is  not  correct.  Paul  Revere 
was  employed  by  Dr.  Warren  and  the  patriots :  was  eminently 
useful  to  them,  and  his  associates  at  this  time,  were  the  North 
end  mechanics  :  but  we  do  not  recognize  Mr.  Pulling’s  name  in 
connection  with  either  party  at  this  time,  and  certain  it  is  that 
lie  was  in  no  proper  sense  the  associate  of  Hancock  and  Adams, 
or.  we  think,  of  Paul  Revere  and  the  North  End  mechanics. — 


•John  Pullinz,  Jr.  was  a  vestrymin  in  1760,  after  his  father,  who  died  in 
1771,  aged  71.  The  -on  was  bom  in  February  1736,  an  1  diet  “soon  after  the 
siege  w*a  raise  1,"  an  1  of  coarse  was  not  in  the  war  which  followed. 


42 


PAUL  REYERE’S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


Mr.  Watson  also  assumes  that  John  Pulling  was  one  of  the 
“  thirty,  chiefly  mechanics,”  who  held  their  secret  meetings  at 
the  Green  Dragon  ;  or,  if  not  so,  that  lie  was  one  of  those  to 
whom  their  secrets  might  be  divulged;  these  last,  he  says,  were 
k‘  the  committee  chosen  by  themselves,  to  which  Paul  Revere 
and  John  Pulling  belonged.”  The  mechanics  never  chose  any 
such  committee,  and  John  Pulling,  a  vestryman  and  a  merchant, 
was  never  admitted  to  their  secrets  as  stated.  Yet  the  author, 
suppressing  dates,  hangs  upon  his  erroneous  statements  a  most 
specious  argument,  as  unjust  as  it  is  inaccurate.  Two  commit¬ 
tees  are  mentioned  by  Mr.  Watson,  upon  which  the  names  of 
Paul  Revere  and  John  Pulling  appear  :  the  first  was  a  town 
committee  and  the  second  a  sub-committee  of  the  same.  Even 
the  appointment  of  these  from  the  printed  record,  is  not  correct¬ 
ly  stated.  We  cjuote  the  passage : 

“I  find  also  in  the  ‘Records  of  the  Boston  Committee  of  Cor¬ 
respondence,  Inspection  and  Safety,’  recently  published  for  the 
first  time,*  that  he  and  Paul  Revere  are  mentioned  together  as 
‘Captain  John  Pulling  and  Major  Paul  Revere,’  and  as  chosen 
members  of  that  committee  ;  and  from  the  titles  given  them  it 
may  of  course  be  inferred  that  they  both  held  commissions  in  the 
Continental  service. f  It  is  also  recorded,  that  ‘  at  a  meeting  of 
the  freeholders  and  other  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Boston,  iu 
public  town  meeting  assembled,  at  the  Old  Brick  Meeting 
house,’  &c.,  it  was  ‘  voted  that  Capt.  John  Pulling,  Maj.  Paul 
Revere, ’  and  others,  ‘be  appointed  a  sub-committee  to  collect 
the  names  of  all  persons  who  have  in  any  way  acted  against  or 
opposed  the  rights  and  liberties  of  this  country,’  &c.” 

The  reader  will  be  surprised  to  learn  that  the  committee  first 


*  New  England  Historical  and  Genealogical  Register,  for  July,  1876. 
t  IVe  do  not  think  either  of  them  ever  held  such  a  commissicn. 


PAUL  REVERE':*  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


43 


named,  an  l  not  its  sub-committee,  vr.is  elected  by  t lie  inhabi¬ 
tants,  and  that  both  of  them  were  chosen  more  than  a  year  after 
the  lanterns  were  shown  ;  after  the  Green  Dragon  secret  club 
had  done  its  work  :  in  fact,  after  the  evacuation  of  the  town  by 
Gen.  Howe  and  the  end  of  the  war  in  Massachusetts  The 
committee  comprised  27  members,  including  Adams,  Hancock, 
Greenleaf.  M  ickay.  Cooper.  Brown,  Bradford,  Pitts.  Appleton, 
Davis,  Barber.  Proctor.  Boyer.  &o.,  and  they  were  elected  on  the 
20th  of  March.  1776,  at  the  old  brick  meeting-house;  and  the 
sub-committee  on  the  7th  day  of  May  following,  at  a  meeting  of 
the  genera  i  the  S  n’s  chamb  sr.  ( )f  course 

neither  of  them  were  chosen  by  or  ever  had  any  connection  with 
the  Green  Dragon  mechanics.  So  that  the  argument  based  upon 
this  s  ramie  anacronism,  and  the  conclusion  assumed  to  lie  de- 
rival  from  it,  so  far  as  Pulling  is  concerned,  fall  to  the  ground, 
reflecting  upon  the  fairness  of  the  reverend  author,  and  making 
it  certain  that  Newman  was  one  of  the  Green  Dragon  mechan¬ 
ics,  and  the  man  employed  by  Paul  Revere.  It  is  a  little 
doubtful  if  Pulling  and  Paul  Revere  knew  each  other  at  all, 
especially  as  Pulling  was  out  of  town  until  after  the  evacuation, 
and.  as  far  as  we  can  learn,  never  acted  with  the  patriots  prior 
to  March,  ’7*>.  while  Revere,  on  the  contrary,  was  constantly 
in  their  employment. 

In  connection  with  this  perversion  of  fact  and  argument,  Mr. 
Watson  asks  with  remarkable  confidence,  if  there  is  a  man 
living  who  would  believe  that  Paul  Revere  violated  his  solemn 
oath  ‘’by  intrusting  to  the  sexton  of  the  church  that  secret 
which  he  had  sworn  upon  the  Bible  he  would  discover  to  no  one 
except  to  the  committees.  Warren.  Hancock,  Adams,  and  one  or 
two  more 0  As  wo  have  said,  there  never  was  any  such  com- 


44 


PAUL  REVERE’S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


mittee,  previously  to  the  date  above  mentioned,  and  when 
the  sub-committee  named  was  appointed,  Warren  bad  been  dead 
for  nearly  a  year,  and  the  question,  so  confidently  proposed, 
has  no  possible  application  to  the  case.  We  agree  that  Paul 
Revere  would  not,  and  did  not,  “violate  his  solemn  oath,”  as  he 
must  have  done  had  he  divulged  the  secrets  of  the  club  to  John 
Pulling,  who  was  never  a  member  of  it  or  its  committees,  but 
who  a  year  later,  after  the  enemy  had  been  driven  out  of  the 
country,  tnay  have  served  with  Revere  and  others,  upon  a  tcwn 
committee.  But  the  fact  is,  the  signal  lanterns  were  Revere’ s 
private  arrangement,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  the  club 
had  anything  to  do  with  them.  The  arrangement  with  Colonel 
Conant  and  others  at  Charlestown,  was  made  only  two  days  be¬ 
fore  the  lanterns,  and  was  no  doubt  known  to  Warren,  Newman, 
Capt.  Barnard,  the  two  men  who  rowed  him  across  the  river, 
and  Col.  Conant  and  his  friends  at  Charlestown.  If  Revere  or 
Newman  considered  it  nccessai’y  to  have  the  consent  of  the  war¬ 
dens  or  vestrymen  of  the  church,  to  the  display  of  the  lan¬ 
terns,  possibly  Pulling  may  have  been  privy  to  it,  and  this 
may  afford  an  explanation  of  the  family  tradition. 

Mr.  Watson  offers  another  argument,  quite  as  absurd  as  that 
which  we  have  disposed  of,  viz  :  that  the  Rector  having  been 
dismissed,  rendered  it  “  easy  for  Mr.  Pulling,  a  vestryman, 
to  have  entire  control  of  the  building,”  &c.  In  this  case  did 
not  the  Wardens  have  authority,  and  would  not  both  rely  upon 
the  sexton  ?  Besides,  the  lanterns  were  shown  on  the  evening 
of  the  dismissal,  before  the  excitement  among  the  officials  of  the 
church  had  subsided;  and  immediately  after  the  signals,  Mr. 
Pulling,  according  to  his  relative,  made  his  escape  to  Nantasket, 


PAL  L  REVERE  S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


45 


ami  was  not  heard  of  again  until  after  the  evacuation.  So  that 
he  probably  never  had  control  of  the  building  for  an  hour  * 
There  are  other  statements  of  Mr.  Watson  that  seem  entitled 
to  consideration.  His  kinswoman  writes  that  she  “  has  heard 
the  story  from  her  earliest  childhood.”  and  adds  *•  f  know  that 
he  held  the  lanterns  that  night.”  This  is  rather  positive  testi¬ 
mony  for  one  who  was  not  born  for  some  twenty  years  after  the 
event  affirmed.  No  doubt  she  “heard  the  story,”  as  Mr.  Wat¬ 
son  says  he  did  from  his  mother  and  aunt,  and  he  finally  sums 
up  the  whole  in  these  words.  “  We  have  the  evidence  of  family 
tradition  that  John  Pulling  was  the  friend  of  Paul  Revere/’ 
This  tradition,  however  honestly  handed  down  as  related,  is 
at  once  me:  by  the  numerous  adverse  family  traditions  which 
we  have  given,  and  there  are  still  more  of  them. 

Mr.  Watson  adds  to  the  above,  “  if  the  probabilities  in  the 
case  are  considered,  I  think  they  will  sustain  the  family  tradi¬ 
tions.  ’  It  is  gratifying,  considering  the  authoritative  manner 
assumed  in  presenting  the  Pulling  claim,  to  meet  this  sensible 
observation.  If  all  the  probabilities  were  as  the  writer  supposes, 
and  as  he  states  them,  the  argument  would  be  stronger,  but  they 
are  not  so  :  the  relations  between  Revere  and  Pulling  were  not 
at  all  as  claimed,  and  there  is  not  the  shadow  of  authority  fur 
the  ~  l"*t  i"  at  that,  that  they  -  always 


•Dk.  BylkV,  Dh*i«ml.  The  ••  Record?  of  the  Proprietor*  of  Pew*,” 
sh.w  that  “April  17,  177-'.,  *  committee  waited  on  Dr.  Byles  to  know  if  he 
mten  le.1  to  leave  the  church.**  ••  Tuesday,  April  18,  1775,”  they  report  that 
Dr.  Byles  mid.  **  For  rny  part  I  am  willing  to  give  up  the  keys  and  quit  the 
church,  and  hope  they  will  pay  me  ,he  balance  due  from  the  church.” 

The  meeting  accepted  his  resignation  and  sent  a  committee  to  u.form  him 
of  their  action,  who  ame  back  and  reported  that  Dr.  Byles  was  contented 
with  the  proceeding**. 


46 


PAUL  REVERE  S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


acted  together.'1'1  We  doubt  if  they  ever  “  acted  together”  in 
the  sense  intended,  until  after  the  evacuation.  Beyond  all  ques¬ 
tion  Newman’s  relations  to  Revere,  to  the  Green  Dragon  asso- 
ciates,  and  to  the  church,  pointed  him  out  as  the  instrument  to 
be  employed,  just  as  Revere  was  the  man  of  all  others  for  Dr. 
Warren  to  select  as  his  messenger.  The  disparaging  remarks, 
twice  repeated,  against  Mr.  Newman  are  unjust,  as  we  have 
shown,*  and  in  very  bad  taste.  As  far  as  the  two  men  are 
concerned,  there  is  no  reason  for  Revere’ s  intrusting  the  service 
to  Pulling  rather  than  to  Newman.  Indeed,  Pulling  him¬ 
self,  who  probably  could  not  have  “climbed  to  the  upper  window 
of  the  steeple”  in  the  day  time,  was  much  more  likely  to  engage 
the  sexton,  than  to  attempt  such  a  thing  himself  in  t*>e  dark¬ 
ness  of  night,  even  if  Revere  had  applied  to  him,  to  do  it. — 
It  is  not  to  be  supposed  for  a  moment  that  Revere  did  not  know 
which  man  to  employ. 

Mr.  Watson,  from  want  of  information  on  the  subject,  we  are 
disposed  to  believe,  permits  himself  to  make  some  absurd  and 
extravagant  remarks,  such  as  the  following:  “This,  of  course, 
was  the  most  critical  and  hazardous  part  of  the  whole  enter- 


*  Mr.  Fowle,  who  knew  Robert  Newman  personally,  says  on  this  point, — 
“The  slur  on  Mr.  Newman  is,  to  say  the  least,  an  error.  Mr.  Newman,  as 
well  as  Paul  Revere,  was  educated  at  Mr.  Tileston's  school,  and  like  Mr.  Re¬ 
vere,  was  a  mechanic.  All  sextons  in  those  days  were  active  and  intelligent 
men.  Mr.  Newman  was  a  man  of  few  words,  but  prompt  and  active,  capable 
of  doing  whatever  Paul  Revere  wished  to  have  done  ”  Of  what  he  says  on 
this  subject  Mr.  Fowle  has  the  right  to  use  the  words,  “  I  know.” 

In  order  to  show  how  Mr.  Newman  was  estimated  by  the  church  it  may  be 
mentioned  that  in  1791,  after  many  years  service,  a  vote  of  thanks  by  the  Pew 
holders  is  recorded,  as  given  to  Mr.  Newman,  and  his  further  assistance  desir¬ 
ed.  The  same  vote  is  repeated  and  his  pew  tax  is  remitted  for  several  years  to 
18  JI ,  and  he  was  reported  as  present  at  the  meetings  in  1802  and  1803. 


PAI  L  RSVBRS'S  SDi.N'AL  LANC8KVS. 


47 


prise.  It  was  full  of  difficulty  anil  danger.”  *  *  “lie,” 

meaning  Mr.  Pulling,  “  went  to  the  church,  locked  himself  in  ; 
and.  climbing  to  the  upper  window  of  the  steeple,  he  there  wait¬ 
ed  for  a  favorable  moment,  and  then  hung  out  the  signal  of 
two  lanterns,”  Xc. 

As  to  this  being  “  the  most  hazardous  part  of  the  whole  en¬ 
terprise.”  (although  it  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  question,)  the 
statement  is  an  exaggeration  ;  the  service,  whatever  its  risks,  is 
not  to  be  compared  with  that  which  Revere  took  upon  himself  to 
perform.  The  lanterns  were  of  great  importance  in  the  event  of 
his  captivity,  and  his  ride  through  the  night  was  full  of  peril. 
The  "climbing  to  the  upper  window  of  the  steeple,”  with  lan¬ 
terns  in  his  hands,  would  no  doubt  be  difficult  to  one  not  famil¬ 
iar  with  the  way  ;  but  the  idea  of  “  waiting  for  a  favorable  mo¬ 
ment.”  at  that  height  and  time  of  night,  is  a  trifle  superfluous.* 
As  to  the  streets  of  the  North  end  being  “full  of  danger  that 
night,”  and  “  North  square  the  most  dangerous  of  all,”  we  are 
not  aware  of  any  reliable  evidence  to  authorize  the  statement ; 
but.  whether  there  were  troops  in  North  Square  or  not,  it  is 
certain  that  lanterns  in  “  the  North  church  steeple,  towards 
Charlestown,”  could  not  have  been  seen  from  that  point. f  The 


•The  ReY.  William  Gordon,  speaking  of  this  night  in  a  letter  to  a  gentle¬ 
man  in  England,  says,  “on  the  first  of  the  night,  i rhen  il  wax  eery  dark, 
the  detachment,”  &e. 

+  The  “  Letters  of  John  Andrews,”  (Historical  Collections,)  contain  the 
following  items  in  relation  to  troops  at  the  North  End  : 

1774.  December  ->0.  “The  marines,  consisting  of  about  50  >  men,  landed 
this  forenoon,  and  hive  gone  into  harrajks  at  the  extremg  pirt  of  the  North 
£-d,  by  much  the  fitest  place  for  them.” 

1776,  Januiry  1 1th.  “  This  m  jrniug  the  soldiers  in  the  barracks  opposite 


48 


PAUL  revere' s  sig.val  laxterxs. 


movements  of  the  troops  were  conducted  as  quietly  as  possible, 
and  what  excitement  there  was,  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
common.  Mr.  Fowle  says,  “  Xo  British,  soldiers  ever  paraded 
at  the  Xorth  part  of  Boston.  There  was  only  one  company  at 
Copps'  Hill.  Xorth  End  was  no  place  for  display  :  they  were 
likely  to  be  interfered  with.” 

Reported  arrest  of  Mr.  Xewman. 

There  is  nothing  further  in  the  Pulling  story  deserving  con¬ 
sideration,  excepting  the  account  of  the  arrest  of  Mr.  Xewman 
and  the  escape  of  Mr.  Pulling.  When  the  British  heard  of  the 
signals  in  the  church  steeple,  they  naturally  inquired  for  the 
sexton,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Burroughs  says  “  they  found  him  in 
-  bed,  arrested  him  and  threw  him  into  jail  ;  but  he  had  taken 
such  wise  precautions  that  nothing  could  be  proved  against  him. 
and  he  was  set  at  liberty.”  Mr.  Watson,  we  know  not  on  what 
authority,  says  he  declared  that  he  had  given  the  keys  of  the 
church  to  Mr.  Pulling  and  went  to  bed  again,  and  that  this  an¬ 
swer  procured  his  release.  If  the  matter  was  considered  in  a 
serious  light  and  ever  came  before  any  proper  tribunal,  it  is  not 
very  likely  that  such  an  answer  would  procure  the  release  of 
the  suspected  party  ;  but  we  are  not  told  who  arrested  or  who 
released  him,  and  we  know  of  no  record  of  any  such  proceeding. 
Mr.  Pulling  having  been  warned,  it  is  said  by  Mr.  Watson,  ef¬ 
fected  his  escape  to  Xantasket  with  his  family,  and  remained 


our  house,  left  it  ami  took  quarters  with  the  Royal  Irish,  in  Gould's  Auction 
Room  or  store,  in  the  street  leading  to  Charlestown  Ferry.’’ 

Col.  Heath’s  statement  of  20th  March,  (ante,  page  25,)  would  seem  to  show 
that  these  troops  had  been  removed  prior  to  April  18th. 


PAUL  REVERB*  S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


49 


away  until  “  after  the  siege  was  raised.”  Mr.  Watson  adds, 
*•  lie  died  soon  after  lie  returned  to  Boston.”* 

All  we  can  say,  as  at  present  informed,  is,  that  we  doubt 
the  accuracy  of  these  statements,  or  whether  in  fact.  Mr.  New¬ 
man  was  arrested  at  all,  and  should  like  to  be  informed  where 
Mr.  Watson  gets  his  information  about  Mr  Pulling's  ‘-watch¬ 
ing  his  opportunity”  and  calling  upon  Mr.  Newman  for  the 
keys  o.*  the  church,  and  the  story  of  Mr.  Newman's  arrest, 
especially  as  his  relative  from  whom  he  gets  the  tradition, 
never  heard  of  Mr.  Newman.  As  to  Mr.  Pulling’s  escape  to 
Nantasket.  where  Gen.  Gage  could  put  his  hand  upon  him  at 
any  moment,  why  should  he  not  have  joined  the  patriots  at 
Cambridge,  who  would  have  protected  him,  if  necessary,  or  if 
any  pursuit  bad  been  made ;  but  there  is  not  a  shadow  of  evi¬ 
dence  of  any  attempt  to  arrest  Mr.  Pulling  or  any  indication 
given  that  the  matter,  if  known  to  the  British  authorities,  was 
regarded  as  an  offence  to  be  punished  by  law  ;  and  as  to  the 
story  of  his  escape  with  his  family  in  a  vessel  carrying  beer 
to  a  man-of-war  in  the  harbor,  or  in  a  skiff  (which  are  the  ad¬ 
verse  statements.)  they  are  too  absurd  for  belief.  No  gentleman, 
we  venture  to  say.  unless  bereft  of  reason,  would  so  expose 
himself;  nor  w.m  there  any occasion  for  his  continued  absence, 
as  far  a*  appears.  We  repeat,  we  doubt  the  whole  story,  and 
regard  the  evidence  already  given  that  “Robert  Newman  was 
the  man  who  held  out  the  lanterns,  as  conclusive  and  satis¬ 
factory  and  not  to  he  again  disturbed. 

•  Mr.  Watson  appear*  to  he  wrong,  a*  to  the  hirth  and  death  of  Pulling, 
in  both  particular*  :  He  says  he  was  horn  February  IS,  1737,  when  the  clerk’s 
recorl  shows  that  he  was  baptized  February  27,  1736,  and  instead  of  dying 
*o*>n  after  he  returned  to  Boston,  was  a  vestryman  until  178*3. 


50 


PAUL  REVERB’S  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


YIIL  CONCLUDING  REMARKS. 


In  view  of  what  has  been  said  in  these  pages,  there  can  be 
no  doubt  as  to  the  purpose  of  the  signal  lanterns,  or  as  to  the 
place  where  they  were  displayed,  if  indeed  there  can  be  any  as 
to  the  “  friend  of  Paul  Revere,”  who  displayed  them.  It  seems 
to  the  writer  as  if  the  evidence  on  all  these  points  was  clear  and 
sufficient  to  place  them  beyond  fuither  question. 

The  moving  spirit  of  the  whole,  however,  was  Dr.  Joseph 
Warren,  who  a  month  before  had  delivered  his  eloquent  oration 
on  the  Boston  massacre,  and  two  months  later  gave  up  his  life 
on  what  by  his  sacrifice  became  the  altar  of  his  country.  The 
importance  of  his  services  at  this  time,  which  were  self-imposed, 
can  scarcely  be  exaggerated,  and  so  far  seem  not  to  have  been 
fully  appreciated,  if  indeed  generally  known. 

Dr.  Warren  had  remained  in  Boston  to  observe  the  move¬ 
ments  of  Gen.  Gage,  and  w7as  the  only  one  of  the  patriots  in 
town  whom  the  mechanics  could  consult,  or  to  whom  they  could 
communicate  their  observations  and  proceedings.  During  the 
time,  more  than  three  weeks,  that  the  Provincial  Congress  and 
the  Committee  of  Safety  were  in  session  at  Concord,  Warren 
was  absent  from  all  their  meetings,  and  prompted  all  that  was 
done  to  keep  the  patriots  informed  of  the  movements  and  pur¬ 
poses  of  Gen.  Gage  in  Boston,  and  to  him  and  Paul  Revere, 
as  his  messenger,  belong  the  honor  of  alarming  the  country  in 
season  to  save  most  of  the  cannon  and  stores  at  Concord,  and 
meet  the  enemy  in  that  conflict  which  did  so  much  to  arouse 
and  unite  the  colonies  in  the  momentous  conflict  which  followed. 


PAUL  RBVERE’s  SIGNAL  LANTERNS. 


51 


Hail  this  boon  otherwise  :  had  not  Warren  remained  in  Boston, 
to  observe  the  movements  of  the  British  ;  had  not  the  country 
been  warned  and  the  people  aroused,  and  had  Gen.  Gage’s  sol¬ 
diers  been  allowed  to  do  his  bidding  without  hindrance,  who 
shall  say  what  the  consequences  might  have  been,  temporarily 
perhaps,  to  the  cause  of  the  country  ! 

The  signal  lanterns  were  projected  by  Revere  to  carry  out 
the  wishes  of  Dr.  Warren,  in  case  any  obstacle  should  occur  to 
prevent  him  from  crossing  the  river,  and  at  the  same  time  cov¬ 
ered  any  contingency  that  might  occur  to  William  Dawes,  who 
had  preceded  him  on  the  same  errand  over  Boston  Neck  The 
merit  and  wisdom  of  the  lanterns,  manifested  in  the  foresight 
which  suggested  them,  belong  exclusively  to  Paul  Revere,  as 
the  value  and  importance  of  the  whole  proceeding  does  to  the 
constant  devotion  and  presence  of  mind  of  Dr.  Warren. 

Conclusions. 

1.  That  the  Signal  Lanterns,  on  the  18th  of  April,  1775, 
were  in  pursuance  of  an  arrangement  between  Paul  Revere  and 
Colonel  Conant  and  other  gentlemen  at  Charlestown. 

2.  That  the  lanterns  were  shown  in  “  the  North  Church 
steep'r.  (or  Christ  Church.)  and  not  in  the  :‘old  North 
Meeting-house,”  in  North  Square. 

3.  That  the  lanterns  were  shown  by  Robert  Newman,  sexton 
of  the  church,  and  the  friend  of  Paul  Revere. 

Note.  Tho  of  the  word  ‘  playmates,*’  in  speaking  of  Revere  and  New¬ 
man,  on  p»g-‘  ■>&,  is  an  intlvertency — Revere  was  seventeen  years  his  senior. 


HISTORICAL 


INACCURACIES, 

CONNECTED  WITH  THE  19th  OF  APRIL. 


The  Pictorial  History  of  the  American  Revolution,  published  in  1877,  says, 
on  the  18th  of  April  Qen.  Gage  embarked  800  men  “on  Charles  River,  at 
Boston  Neck.  They  sailed  up  the  river,  landed  at  Phipps’  Farm,  and  advanc¬ 
ed  toward  Concord.”  p.  140.  The  troops  embarked  at  the  foot  of  the  com¬ 
mon  and  crossed  the  river  down  the  stream. 

The  Student  and  Schoolmate,  vol.  23,  1809,  says,  “  When  in  April,  it  was 
known  to  the  committee  of  safety  that  the  British  were  to  march  to  Lexington, 
where  the  patriots  had  collected  military  stores ,”  &c.  There  were  not  any 
military  stores  collected  at  Lexington. 

A  volume  “  From  the  Hub  to  the  Hudson,”  published  in  1869,  speaking  of 
Concord,  says,  “  any  one  will  show  you  the  road  that  leads  to  the  spot  where, 
on  the  19th  of  April,  1775,  the  revolutionary  war  began.  The  day  before,  at 
Lexington,  the  American  militia  had  been  fired  on  by  Pitcairn’s  British  regu¬ 
lars,”  &c.  On  the  next  page  the  author  says,  “  If  they  had  known  what  had 
happened  the  day  before  at  Lexington,”  &c.  Such  glaring  inaccuracy,  it  is 
not  too  much  to  say,  is  entirely  inexcusable. 

Lossing,  in  his  “  Pictorial  Field  Book  of  the  Revolution,”  states  among  other 
things,  that  “  Paul  Revere  aud  William  Dawes  had  just  rowed  across  the  rive# 
to  Charlestown,”  and  in  his  later  work,  “  Our  Country,”  he  adopts  the  mis¬ 
takes  of  the  poet,  and  keeps  Revere  waiting  for  his  own  signals  in  the  presence 
of  those  for  whose  information  they  were  made  and  who  had  seen  them. 

Errors  of  the  description  of  those  mentioned  have  multiplied  indefinitely, 
and  are  to  be  found  where  they  should  not  occur.  Rev.  Mr.  Watson  repeats 
the  remark  that  the  signal  lanterns  were  for  “  the  guidance  of  Revere,”  and 
the  Lexington  centennial  “  Souvenir”  makes  the  same  mistake.  Revere  knew 
more  than  the  lanterns  could  tell,  and  when  he  got  across  the  river,  he  says, 
*•  I  told  them  what  was  acting,  and  went  to  get  me  a  horse.” 


R i:V( ) LUTIO X  A  R  Y  M  EMOR I A LS. 


PREFATORY  REMARKS. 

The  expiration  of  a  century  since  the  beginning  of  that 
train  of  events  which  led  to  the  American  Revolution,’’  and 
the  independence  of  the  country,  naturally  directed  the  public 
attention  to  those  points  in  the  city  proper  and  its  immediate 
neighborhood  where  some  of  the  most  important  of  those  events 
oxurred.  and  led  to  the  wish  that  they  should  be  designated  in 
some  appropriate  manner  as  landmarks  in  the  local  history  of 
the  city.  With  this  purpose  in  \iew  the  City  Council  of  1870 
t-iok  action  in  the  matter  which  has  resulted  in  the  erection  of 
three  memorials,  one  in  Roxbury,  one  on  Dorchester  Heights, 
(South  Boston.)  and  the  third,  the  Tablet  now  upon  the  tower 
of  Christ  Church. 

The  monument  at  Roxbury  High  Fort  and  that  at  Dorchester 
Heights  were  erected  by  order  of  the  City  Council  of  1877, 
and  the  tablet  on  Christ  Church,  as  has  been  stated,  by  that  of 
1878.  They  are  simple  and  suitable  memorials  of  the  impor¬ 
tant  in  idents  which  they  commemorate,  and  the  tablet  on  the 
venerable  church,  the  oldest  public  building,*  (except  the  Prov¬ 
ince  House),  now  standing  in  B)ston,  is  a  worthy  monument  to 
the  memory  and  services  of  Paul  Revere. 


*  The  dates  of  the  pre  revola'ion  iry  buildings  now  standing  are  os  follows  : 
Province  House,  -  1670  1  Old  State  Ho.,  1657,  pres,  edifice,  1748 

Christ  Church,  -  1723  1  King's  Chapel,  1688,  “  “  1740 

Old  South,  1660,  present  edifice,  172'J  j  Faneuil  Hull,  1742,  “  “  1763 


/ 


54 


REVOLUTIONARY  MEMORIALS. 


I.  TABLET  ON  CHRIST  CHURCH. 


The  interesting  incident  of  Paul  Revere’s  Signal  Lanterns 
having  been  established  as  related  in  these  pages,  the  contem¬ 
plated  purpose  of  the  City  Government  of  1876,  in  relation  to 
the  place  where  they  were  shown,  has  been  accomplished  by 
that  of  1878.  The  Tablet,  or  block  of  granite,  which  has  been 
placed  upon  the  tower  of  Christ  Church ,  on  Salem  street,  to 
commemorate  the  incident,  is  10  ft.  8  inches  in  length  by  6  ft.  4 
inches  in  width,  and  one  foot  in  thickness.  It  is  placed  42  feet 
above  the  sidewalk  ;  the  letters  are  6  and  8  inches  in  height, 
and  the  inscription  may  be  easily  read  from  the  street. 

There  has  been  for  some  years  past,  a  question  as  to  the  real 
purpose  of  the  signal  lanterns,  mainly  growing  out  of  the  mis¬ 
takes  of  the  poet,  and  this,  in  view  of  what  has  b:en  done  to¬ 
wards  correction,  may  well  deserve  a  moment's  consideration. 
It  was  very  natural  to  suppose  that  the  signals  were  made  for 
Paul  Revere  and  that  he  was  waiting  on  the  opposite  shore. 
This  inference  was  incorporated  as  history  into  the  poem  of  Mr. 
Longfellow,  who  has  said  that  “he  found  the  incident  [of  the 
lanterns]  mentioned  in  a  magazine,  and  that  it  gave  him  the 
idea  of  the  poem.”  Since  the  poem  was  published,  the  popular 
belief  has  conformed  to  its  teachings,  so  much  so  that  the  com¬ 
mittee  of  the  City  Council,  in  1876-7,  appear  to  have  accepted 
the  poet’s  version  as  veritable  history,  and  proposed  the  follow¬ 
ing  inscription  for  the  tablet  :  “  The  lanterns  hung  from  this 

tower  signalled  to  Paul  Revere  the  march  of  the  British  troops 
upon  Concord  and  Lexington.” 


REVOLUTION’ ARY  MEMORIALS. 


55 


W  hen  this  appeared  in  print,  the  writer  having  already  taken 
some  interest  in  the  subject,  addressed  a  note  to  Mayor  Pierce, 
suggesting  that  the  proposed  inscription  was  ‘'inaccurate  and 
untruthful,  and  hoping  that  it  would  be  corrected  before  being 
put  in  place.  Not  having  had  his  attention  called  to  the  subject 
the  Mayor  handed  the  note  to  the  City  Clerk,  who  replied, 
‘‘  that  the  inscription  was  ordered  by  vote  of  the  City  Council, 
after  a  hearing  upon  the  subject,  and  cannot  be  changed  except 
by  a  similar  vote  authorizing  such  change,”  and  sug  »estin«-  that 
others  had  desired  to  substitute  •*  the  Patriots’’  for  “  Paul  Re¬ 
vere.  which  he  regarded  as  merely  technical. 

Believing  such  an  inscription  a  perversion  of  history,  and  the 
perpetuation  of  an  error,  for  which  in  view  of  Paul  Revere  s 
own  relation,  there  could  be  no  excuse,  we  could  not  hesitate  to 
make  a  still  more  earnest  effort  for  its  correction,  even  though 
the  tablet,  as  we  were  told,  had  been  executed.  Thereupon,  we 
addressed  a  second  letter  to  Mayor  Pierce  : 

“  Concord.  (Mass  )  March  23.  1878. 

“  Pear  Sir,  I  trust  you  will  allow  me  to  acknowledge  to  you 
the  receipt  of  a  note  from  the  City  Clerk  in  answer  to  mine  of 
the  20th,  addressed  to  you.  If,  as  he  understands,  my  objection 
(so  to  speak)  was  merely  technical,  it  would  perhaps  have  been 
undeserving  any  answer.  My  statement  was  that  the  proposed 
inscription  was  both  “inrccurate  and  untruthful,”  and  if  you 
Mill  allow  me,  I  will  specify  the  points  wherein  it  is  so.  The 
lanterns  were  in  no  sense  signals  to  Paul  Revere,  but.  on  the 
contrary,  were  his  signals  to  Col.  Conant  and  others,  at  Charles¬ 
town.  made  by  special  agreement  between  them,  and  the  state¬ 
ment  is  therefore  inaccurate  and  untruthful.  Paul  Revere  did 
nut  sec  them  ;  they  tccre  not  mn  le  for  him.  and  he  did  not 
need  to  see  them.  They  did  not  signal  to  him  the  “march  of 
the  British  troops,”  for  he  knew  of  the  movement  before  he  left 


56 


REVOLUTIONARY  MEMORIALS. 


Boston.  The  sole  object  of  the  signal  lanterns  was  to  alarm  the 
country  of  the  movement  of  the  British  troops,  (through  Col. 
Conant  and  other  gentlemen.)  in  case  he  (Paul  Revere),  should 
be  seized  or  otherwise  prevented  from  crossing  the  river  to  give 
the  alarm  himself,  and  carry  Dr.  Warren’s  message  to  Lexing¬ 
ton.  I  repeat,  they  were  in  no  sense  signals  to  Paul  Revere, 

‘  while  on  the  opposite  shore,’  as  the  poet  says,  but  his  signals  to 
the  gentlemen  mentioned,  and  we  now  know  would  have  accom¬ 
plished  their  purpose  by  his  foresight  in  the  matter,  had  he  been 
seized  or  upset  in  the  river.  If  these  things  are  so,  is  not  the 
proposed  inscription  ‘inaccurate  and  untruthful,’  and  should  it 
not  be  revised  and  corrected  ? 

“  Allow  me  to  add  a  brief  word  of  criticism.  The  proposed 
inscription,  if  my  copy  is  correct,  says  ‘  march  of  the  British 
troops  vpon  Concord  and  Lexington.’  The  use  of  the  preposi¬ 
tion  ‘  upon,’  I  think,  is  objectionable,  and  the  sentence  reads  as 
if  we  should  say,  in  another  case,  ‘  the  Massachusetts  troops 
marched  upon  Washington  and  Baltimore.’  ” 

“  I  trust  your  Honor  will  excuse  what  may  seem  to  be  med¬ 
dlesome  on  my  part,  in  addressing  a  second  note  to  you  on  this 
subject ;  but  it  impresses  me  very  strongly  that  the  perversion 
of  history  in  putting  up  such  an  inscription  cannot  be  in  accord¬ 
ance  with  the  character  of  the  people  of  Boston.  I  may  add 
that  I  have  no  personal  interest  in  the  matter,  or  any  connection 
with  those  who  may  have,  and  am  prompted  only  by  the  interest 
which  I  feel  in  my  native  city,  in  which,  in  my  boyhood,  I  was 
permitted  to  drive  my  mother's  cow  to  our  pasture  on  Boston 
Common.  Very  respectfully,”  &c. 

In  connection  with  the  delivery  of  this  letter,  Mayor  Pierce 
indulged  the  writer  in  a  partial  hearing  of  the  matter,  in  the 
presence  of  the  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen.  President 
of  the  Council,  City  Clerk,  Architect,  and  other  members  of 
the  government;  and  the  same  evening,  by  the  prompt  action  of 


HEVoLlTI  NARY  MEMORIALS. 


57 


these  gentlemen,  an  order  was  passed  by  the  Board  of  Aldermen, 
and  subsequently  by  the  Common  Council,  authorizing  His 
Honor  the  Mayor  to  correct  the  inscription.  In  doing  this  it 
became  necessary  to  re-write  it.  and  owing  to  the  position  it  was 
to  occupy,  to  make  it  as  brief  as  possible.  The  necessity  for  the 
signal  lanterns  arose  from  the  fact  that  Dr.  Warren  wished  Re¬ 
vere  to  carry  a  message  to  Hancock  and  Adams,  to  warn  them 
and  the  country,  when  the  British  troops  should  march  to 
seize  the  stores  and  ammunition  at  Concord.  Fearing  it  might 
not  be  possible  to  cross  the  river,  when  this  message  became 
necessary,  Paul  Revere,  on  his  return  from  Lexington,  on  the 
previous  Sunday,  (April  1  »»th).  made  an  arrangement  with 
Colonel  Conant  and  other  gentlemen  at  Charlestown,  to  convey 
the  information  to  them  by  means  of  one  or  two  signal  lanterns 
in  the  steeple  of  the  North  Church  :  and  this  necessity  arose 
on  the  evening  of  April  18,  1775.  As  it  was  impossible  to  in¬ 
clude  all  these  circumstances  in  the  inscription,  the  language 
adopted  is  as  follows  : 


THE  SIGNAL  LANTERNS  OF 

PAUL  REVERE, 

DISPLAYED  IX  THE  STEEPLE  OF  THIS  CHURCH, 

APRIL  18,  1775, 

warned  the  country  of  the  march 

OF  THE  BRITISH  TROOPS  To 

LEXINGTON  AND  CONCORD. 

The  Tablet  was  placed  in  position  without  any  ceremony  of 
inauguration  on  the  17th  of  October.  1878. 


58 


REVOLUTIONARY  MEMORIALS. 


II.  ROXBURY  HIGH  FORT. 


The  Monument  at  Roxbury  is  on  the  site  of  the  old  fort  at 
Highland  Park.  When  Gen.  Washington  took  command  of  the 
troops  around  Boston,  July,  1775,  he  found,  as  he  says,  a  com¬ 
plete  line  of  circumvallation  from  Charles  River  to  Mystic  Riv¬ 
er,  and  at  Boston  Feck,  he  said,  “Our  people  have  intrenched 
across  the  outer  end,  and  are  strongly  fortified  there  and  on  the 
hill  near  the  meeting-house” — referring  to  the  fort  which  had 
been  built  there  —  one  of  several  in  the  line. 

Dr.  Belknap,  speaking  of  the  fortifications  at  Roxbury,  Oc¬ 
tober,  1775,  says  “a  wall  of  earth  is  carried  across  the  street 
to  W  illiams’  old  house,  where  there  is  a  formidable  fort,  mount¬ 
ed  with  cannon.”  Finch,  in  his  account  of  “  Forts  around  Bos¬ 
ton,”  says,  “The  lowest  fort  in  Roxbury  appears  to  have  been 
the  first  erected,  and  by  its  elevation  commanded  the  avenue  to 
Boston  over  the  peninsula,  [Neck],  and  prevented  the  advance 
of  British  troops  in  that  direction.  *  *  On  a  higher 

eminence  of  the  same  hill  is  situated  a  quadrangular  fort,  built 
on  the  summit  of  a  rock,  and  being  perhaps  the  first  attempt  at 
a  regular  fortification,  it  was  considered  by  the  militia  of  unpar¬ 
alleled  strength,  and  excited  great  confidence  in  that  wing  of  the 
army  stationed  at  Roxbury.” 

Cannon  were  placed  in  this  fort  at  the  time  of  its  construc¬ 
tion,  and  the  first  shot,  it  is  said,  were  thrown  from  them  into 
the  town,  on  the  first  of  July,  the  day  before  Washington  reach¬ 
ed  Watertown.  The  next  day  the  British  returned  the  fire 
from  the  lines  on  the  Neck. 


REVOLUTION'  ARY  M  E  M  0  R I A  LS. 


59 


The  Monument  is  about  6  feet  in  height  and  4  feet  wide, 
in  the  form  of  a  mounted  tablet,  with  a  cannon  at  each  end  and 
balls  on  the  top.  all  of  granite,  elevated  on  a  mound  of  earth. 
The  following  is  the  inscription  : 

OX  THIS  EMINENCE  9TuOD 

ROXBDRY  HIGH  FORT, 

A  9TBOXO  E  \RTHWORK  PLANNED  BY 

HENRY  KNOX  AND  JOSIAH  WATERS, 

AND  ERECTED  BY  THE  AMERICAN  ARMY 

JrsE,  1775,  crownixo  the  famocs 

ROXBCRt  LtMSS  OP  INVBSTMBMT  AT  Til  K 

8  l  E  C»  E  OF  B  O  s  T  O  N  . 

[ _ i 


III.  DORCHESTER  HEIGHTS. 

The  second  Monument  is  at  Dorchester  Heights,  South  Bos- 
ton.  The  occupation  of  Dorchester  Heights  was  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  and  effective  achievements  of  the  war.  It  was  origi¬ 
nally  proposed  by  the  Committee  of  Safety,  at  the  time  of  the 
occupation  of  Bunker  Hill,  when  it  was  understood  to  be  the 
purpose  of  Gen  Gage  to  do  so  ;  but  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill 
prevented  the  movement  by  either  party,  and  the  position  re¬ 
mained  unoccupied  during  the  year.  In  February,  177d,  the 
river  and  harbor  being  frozen  over,  a  Council  of  War  was  called 
to  consider  the  plan  of  attacking  the  Britisli  over  the  ice.  This 
plan  had  long  engaged  the  attention  of  Washington,  but  was  at 
once  deemed  unfeasible,  and  then  was  renewed  the  proposal  to 
occupy  Dorchester  Heights,  for  which  preparations  had  already 
been  made.  The  proposition  was  at  once  adopted  by  the  Coun¬ 
cil.  and  on  the  evening  of  the  4th  of  March,  after  a  cannonad- 


60 


REVOLUTIONARY  MEMORIALS. 


ing  from  other  points  for  the  two  preceding  days,  the  heights 
were  occupied,  and  before  10  o’clock,  on  the  morning  of  the  5th 
of  March,  the  works  were  completed  and  manned.  Gen.  Heath 
says,  “  Perhaps  there  never  was  so  much  work  done  in  so  short 
a  time,”  and  Gen.  Howe  was  astonished  and  declared  that  his 
“  whole  army  could  not  have  accomplished  so  much  work  in  a 
month.”  The  “novel  mode  of  defence”  around  these  works, 
which  made  them  unapproachable,  was  suggested  by  a  Boston 
merchant,  and  is  described  in  a  letter  to  the  writer  from  a  gen¬ 
tleman  in  Texas,  who  heard  the  story  from  Rev.  Oliver  A.  Shaw, 
told  to  him  wdien  a  boy,  by  his  grandfather  in  Cambridge  : 

“  Twenty-five  hogsheads  filled  with  earth  and  stones,  were 
placed  on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  and  each  secured  by  a  single 
stake  driven  into  the  ground  in  front,  in  such  a  manner,  that, 
as  soon  as  it  was  removed,  the  hogshead  would  begin  to  roll 
down.  One  man  [and  Mr.  Shaw  said  his  grandfather  was  one 
of  them,J  was  placed  at  each  hogshead.  When  the  red-coats 
were  half-way  up  the  hill,  the  stakes  were  to  be  drawn,  and 
each  man  to  give  his  hogshead  a  kick,  and  start  it  forward,  and 
then  run  for  the  fort.”  The  hogsheads,  or  barrels,  accomplished 
their  purpose,  as  no  army  could  have  gone  up  in  face  of  them. 

The  fort  commanded  the  town  and  the  harbor. 

The  following  is  the  inscription  on  the  monument  : 

LOCATION  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REDOUBT, 

ON 

DORCHESTER  HEIGHTS, 

WIIICH  COMPELLED  THE  EVACUATION 

OF  BOSTON  BY  THE  BRITISH  ARMY 

March  17,  1776. 


NEW  CHAPTER 


IN  THE 

HISTORY  OF  THE  CONCORD  FIGHT. 


It  is  not  very  remarkable,  perhaps,  that  the  centennial  pe¬ 
riod  since  the  beginning  of  the  revolutionary  war  should  be  the 
occasion  of  bringing  to  light  some  new  matter  in  relation  to  its 
early  incidents,  in  regard  to  which  more  or  less  secrecy  was  pre¬ 
served  and  names  withheld  at  the  time.  It  seems  from  evidence 
which  has  lately  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  writer,  by  a  cas¬ 
ually  dropped  remark,  concerning  the  Concord  Fight,  that  the 
alarm  of  the  movement  of  General  Gage,  to  seize  the  cannon, 
stores  and  ammunition  in  that  town,  was  more  widely  spread  in 
Middlesex  county  than  heretofore  supposed.  It  appears  from 
the  testimony  of  Mr.  Artemas  Wright,  of  Ayer,  who  is  a  grand¬ 
son  of  Mr.  Nathan  Corey,  of  Groton,  that  there  were  several 
members  of  the  Groton  company  of  Minute  men  at  Concord  on 
the  morning  of  the  19th  of  April,  who  were  in  the  fight  at  the 
North  Bridge  and  joined  in  the  pursuit  of  the  British  troops  in 
the  retreat  to  Lexington.  Mr.  Wright  says  his  grandfather  told 
him  the  story  and  often  talked  of  the  scenes  of  that  day. 

His  narration  was  that  on  the  day  before,  April  18,  while  lie 
was  ploughing  in  his  field,  some  distance  from  the  middle  of  the 
town,  he  received  notice  of  a  meeting  of  the  Minute  men,  which 
of  course  demanded  immediate  attention.  It  was  towards  even¬ 
ing  when  he  received  the  notice  He  at  once  drove  his  oxen 
home,  took  down  his  gun  and  powder  horn,  (which  latter  was 
preserved  by  Mr.  W.  for  many  years,  until  it  was  destroyed  in 
the  burning  of  his  house),  told  his  wife  Molly  that  he  was  going 
away  and  did  not  know  when  he  should  come  back,  lighted  a 
pine  torch  (for  the  roads  at  this  time  went  by  marks  on  the 
trees,)  and  went  to  the  middle  of  the  town.  The  news,  which 


62 


HISTORY  OF  THE  CONCORD  TIGHT. 


was  before  them  in  the  shape  of  brass  cannon,  and  the  subject 
of  going  to  Concord,  were  talked  over,  and  the  company  voted 
not  to  march  that  night.  This,  it  seems,  was  not  the  disposi¬ 
tion  of  all  the  members,  and  some  of  them  determined  to  go  at 
once,  and  nine  of  them,  with  young  Corey  among  them,  started 
for  Concord,  travelled  all  night  and  reached  there  at  an  early 
hour  in  the  morning,  entering  one  side  of  the  town  some  hours 
before  the  British  troops  entered  on  the  other.  Mr.  Corey  said 
they  all  went  and  got  some  breakfast  at  the  house  of  Col.  Bar¬ 
rett,  which  was  afterwards  visited  by  British  troops  in  search  of 
cannon  and  stores,  most  of  which  had  been  removed  to  places  of 
safety.  After  getting  something  to  eat,  they  proceeded  towards 
the  centre  of  the  town  and  finally  joined  the  men  of  Concord  at 
or  near  the  Bridge,  where  the  fight  occurred.  They  continued 
with  the  minute  men  and  followed  the  retreating  troops. 

This  story,  according  to  the  accepted  history  of  the  time,  ap¬ 
pears  to  be  wholly  improbable,  and  must  remain  so  unless  it  can 
be  explained,  as  we  think  it  can  be.  The  objection  to  be  met 
and  answered  is,  How  could  the  people  of  Groton,  30  miles  from 
Boston,  at  the  time  the  British  troops  were  moving  towards 
their  boats,  know  anything  of  Gen.  Gage’s  purpose,  or  design 
to  visit  Concord  ?  This  is  the  matter  to  be  explained  after  the 
lapse  of  mo.re  than  a  century. 

It  is  well  known  to  readers  who  are  familiar  with  the  history 
of  this  period  that  Dr.  Warren  sent  a  message  by  Paul  Revere 
to  Hancock  and  Adams,  at  Lexington,  on  Sunday,  April  16th, 
1775,  that  the  British  were  preparing  for  an  excursion  into  the 
country,  and  it  was  at  once  understood  that  the  stores  and  am¬ 
munition  collected  at  Concord,  were  the  object.  Revere  deliv¬ 
ered  his  message  and  returned  on  Sunday  night.  On  Monday 
morning  the  Committees  of  Safety  and  Supplies,  at  Concord, 
(not  having  adjourned  when  the  congress  did),  commenced  their 
session  before  Hancock  arrived.  They  voted  that  Col.  Barrett 
should  mount  some  cannon,  form  an  artillery  company  and  em¬ 
ploy  a  teacher  ;  and  then  voted  to  adjourn  to  Wednesday  morn¬ 
ing.  After  this,  it  is  supposed,  Hancock  arrived  and  communi- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  CONCORD  FIGHT. 


63 


cated  the  intelligence  he  had  received  from  Dr.  Warren.  The 
Committees  then  voted  "  that  the  four  six  pounders  be  trans¬ 
ported  to  Groton  and  placet!  under  the  care  of  Col.  Prescott.” 
the  representative  from  that  town  :  and  other  cannon  were  or¬ 
dered  to  be  sent  to  Acton  for  safe  keeping.  (ft  will  be  recol¬ 
lected  that  only  a  short  time  before  this,  (rage  sent  Col.  Leslie 
to  Salem  to  seize  some  pieces  of  cannon  there  )  The  next  day 
the  cannon  were  on  the  way  to  Groton,  and  arrived  there  late  in 
the  afternoon  of  Tuesday,  18th.  while  the  British  troops  were 
getting  ready  to  embark  at  Boston. 

It  may  now  be  pretty  confidently  asked.  What  message  did 
the  appearance  of  those  cannon  at  Groton  communicate  to  the 
minute  men  of  that  town  ?  There  cannot  be  a  doubt  as  to 
the  tale  they  told,  even  if  the  men  who  carried  them  had  been 
speechless.  The  proceedings  which  followed,  as  we  have  stated 
them,  were  both  natural  and  reasonable,  even  supposing  the  vol¬ 
unteers  mover!  by  curiosity  alone  :  a  mere  desire  to  see  British 
soldiers.  The  minute  men  were  promptly  called  together,  and 
some  of  them  determined  to  g)  to  Concord  that  night;  and  while 
Col.  Smith  was  moving  his  troops  over  the  Cambridge  marshes 
and  swamps,  these  patriots  were  on  their  way  to  meet  them  at 
Concord  Bridge  and  hang  upon  their  rear  in  the  retreat,  which, 
we  have  no  doubt,  they  did. 

—  Since  the  first  publication  of  this  matter.  Dr.  Samuel  A. 
Green,  a  native  of  Groton,  has  published  a  handsome  volume, 
illustrated,  entitled  ‘‘Epitaphs  from  the  Old  Burying  Ground 
in  Groton.  Mass.”  One  of  the  inscriptions,  found  upon  the 
monument  to  the  memory  of  Capt.  Abram  Child,  contains  the 
follow  inf?  sentence  :  “  lie  was  a  Lieutenant  among  the  Minute 
men.  and  aided  in  the  Concord  Fight  and  the  Battle  of  Bunker 
Hill.  1775.”  The  remainder  of  the  inscription  shows  that  Capt. 
Child  went  through  the  war  with  Washington,  and  was  the  oldest 
captain  in  the  service  at  the  capture  of  Stoney  Point,  in  1779. 
He  was  just  the  man  for  a  night  expedition  tc  Concord. 


EVENTS  AND  MOVEMENTS  OF  THE  EXPEDITION  TO 
LEXINGTON  AND  CONCORD. 

Prepared  by  William  W.  Wheildon. 

Saturday,  April  15th,  1775. 

Provincial  Congress  at  Concord  ;  afternoon  adjourned  without  day, 
Sunday,  April  16th. 

First  message  sent  to  Lexington  by  Paul  Revere. 

Evening  :  Revere’s  arrangement  with  Col.  Conant  for  the  lanterns. 
Monday,  April  17th. 

Committees  of  Safety  and  Supplies,  at  Concord  ;  artillery  cannon  order¬ 
ed  to  Groton  and  Acton  ;  afternoon,  adjourned  to  Menotomy. 
Tuesday,  April  18th. 

Committees  meet  at 'Menotomy  in  the  morning,  and  adjourn  at  sunset. 
Evening  :  Devens  and  Watson  meet  British  officers  on  the  road,  and  then 
return  to  Menotomy,  and  send  a  message  to  Hancock. 

9  o’clock,  British  troops  moving  from  the  common  towards  the  river. 

10  o’clock,  William  Dawes  despatched  over  the  Neck. 

10.30,  Troops  in  the  boats.  Revere  despatched. 

11,  Signals  seen.  Revere  across  the  river;  ready  to  start. 

12  o’clock,  British  troops  commence  the  march  from  Phipps’  Farm. 

“  Revere  at  Clark’s  house  in  Lexington.  Dawes  arrives  soon  after. 
Wednesday,  April  19th. 

1  to  2,  A.  M.  Lexington  alarmed  ;  minute  men  on  the  field  ;  Revere  and 
Dawes  start  for  Concord  ;  captured  by  British  officers  ;  Prescott  effects 
his  escape  and  spreads  the  alarm  to  Concord. 

5  o’clock,  British  troops  tire  upon  and  kill  minute  men  at  Lexington. 

7  to  7.30,  British  troops  enter  Concord. 

7.30  to  8,  Americans  retreat  over  the  North  Bridge  to  the  high  ground. 

8,  Reinforcements  under  Percy  start  from  Boston. 

9.30,  Acton  company  arrive  at  Concord  and  join  the  minu'e  men. 

10,  British  troops  at  Col  Barretts.  Destruction  of  stores,  burning  cannon 

carriages,  wheels,  &c-  in  town.  Alarm  of  fire. 

“  Dr  Warren  rode  through  Charlestown.  Gen  Heath  in  the  field. 

11,  Americans  attempt  to  cross  back  over  the  bridge  ;  shots  exchanged. 
Fight  at  the  North  Bridge;  British  and  Americans  killed  ;  British 
retreat  and  join  the  main  body. 

12,  British  troops  move  from  the  town,  followed  and  fired  upon  by  the 
minute  men. 

12.30,  fighting  at  Merriam’s  corner;  British  soldiers  killed. 

2,  P.  M.,  met  Percy’s  brigade  of  reinforcements  at  Lexington. 

5  and  G,  fighting  at  Menotomy.  Danvers  troops  arrive  and  engaged. 

6.30,  Pickering’s  Regiment  arrives  near  Prospect  Hill,  a  little  too  late. 

7  and  8,  British  arrive  at  Prospect  Hill  and  reach  Charlestown  soon  after. 

9,  10,  11,  boats  of  the  Somerset  removing  the  wounded  across  the  river. 


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GETTY  CENTER  LIBRARY^  ^ 

3  3125  00139  6544 


A8  SEEN  FROM  CHARLESTOWN  IN  1630. 
HISTORY  OF  BEACON  HILL. 

SENTRY,  OR  BEACON  HILL:  The  Beacon  and  the  Mon¬ 
ument  of  1635  and  1790.  By  William  W.  Wheildon.  Illustrated  with 
Maps  und  Heliotypes.  Author’s  private  composition  studio.  8vo.  pp.  120. 
Concord,  Mass.  1877. 

OPINIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 

“  It  contains  a  great  deal  of  curious  and  valid  historical  infor¬ 
mation  respecting  what  was  once  the  most  conspicuous  landmark 
of  Boston,  and  is  illustrated  with  heliotypes,”  &c. — (Commonw’lth. 
“  A  very  interesting  and  truly  valuable  pamphlet.  To  Bostoni¬ 
ans  these  accounts  will  be  found 
particularly  entertaining  and  in¬ 
structive. — [Traveller. 

“As  a  monograph  of  local  inter¬ 
est  the  volume  is  complete,  and 
bears  evidence  of  having  been  care¬ 
fully  prepared  with  the  author’s  best 
skill  and  experience,  and  is  replete 
with  historical  interest  of  a  new 
and  novel  character. — (Sun.  Her, 
“It  contains  a  full  and  valuable 
account  of  the  early  history  of  Bos¬ 
ton,  and  is  richly  worthy  of  a  care¬ 
ful  perusal.” — (Christian  Watch. 

“Historical  students  and  those 
who  for  any  cause  are  specially  in¬ 
terested  in  Boston,  will  value  high¬ 
ly  this  excellent  monograph.”  — 
(Publisher’s  Weekly. 

“  Mr.  Wheildon’ s  full  and  care- 
ful  monograph  on  Beacon  Hill  will 

at  once  commend  itself  to  the  attention  of  every  one  interested  in 
the  Boston  of  former  generations.” — [Daily  Advertiser. 


